Risk Factors of Postoperative Acute Lung Injury Following Liver Transplantation

Postoperative acute lung injury (ALI) during the first 72 hours after liver transplantation is not uncommon. Injury may occur because liver transplantation is often associated with prolonged operative time, large volumes of fluid administration and transfusion, as well as inflammatory responses related to ischemia-reperfusion injury. For more precise perioperative fluid and hemodynamic management, modern monitoring systems, such as the pulse contour cardiac output (PiCCO) system, have been devised and reported in recent years. The PiCCO system uses the thermodilution technique to determine the cardiac index (CI) and thoracic fluid indices such as the intrathoracic blood volume index (ITBVI), extravascular lung water index (EVLWI), and pulmonary vascular permeability index (PVPI), all of which may reflect pulmonary fluid and injury status. However, perioperative changes in thoracic fluid indices in liver transplantation and their associations with postoperative ALI are not yet clear. In this study, the investigators aimed to determine patterns of change in perioperative thoracic fluid indices and compare these changes in recipients who did or did not develop postoperative ALI. Furthermore, the investigators will also try to determine the potential risk factors following liver transplantation.