Early postoperative renal dysfunction in the adult living donor liver transplantation

Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is a widely accepted treatment for end-stage liver diseases. Renal dysfunction, a frequent complication after liver transplantation, has an unfavorable effect on the prognosis. Despite special characteristics of LDLT, such as small-for-size graft syndrome (SFS), the relations between graft size and postoperative renal dysfunction have not been evaluated. So we described the relevance of previously known risk factors with SFS (graft-recipient body weight ratio [GRWR] < 0.8%) and early postoperative renal dysfunction in LDLT. The study population consisted of adults who received LDLT from May 1996 to November 2005. The 284 patients who were followed to 3 months after LDLT were classified as group I (n = 201, creatinine < 1.5 mg/dL) versus group II (n = 83, creatinine >= 1.5 mg/dL). Univariate analysis showed renal dysfunction in the early postoperative period was related to preoperative total bilirubin, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, prothrombin time level, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, GRWR, presence of preoperative renal dysfunction, transfusion of packed red blood cell, fresh frozen plasma, cryoprecipitate, reoperation, and the need for renal replacement therapy (RRT). Upon multivariate analysis, MELD score, GRWR, preoperative renal dysfunction, and need for RRT were related to early postoperative renal dysfunction. In conclusion, there was a significant relationship between SFS (GRWR < 0.8) and early postoperative renal dysfunction.