Published online Mar 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i8.1793
Peer-review started: September 19, 2020
First decision: December 13, 2020
Revised: December 21, 2020
Accepted: December 27, 2020
Article in press: December 27, 2020
Published online: March 16, 2021
Processing time: 167 Days and 6.7 Hours
Post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) is a serious complication and a leading cause of death after hepatectomy, an accurate prediction of PHLF is important for improvement of prognosis after hepatectomy.
To retrospectively analyze the risk factors for postoperative liver failure in patients undergoing hepatectomy for liver tumors.
The clinical data of 80 patients undergoing hepatectomy in our hospital from June 2018 to January 2020 were collected. With laboratory examination as well as pre- and post-operative abdominal three-dimensional reconstructive computed tomography, the demographic data, surgical data, biochemical indicators, coagulation index, routine blood tests, spleen and liver volumes, relative remnant liver volume, and other related indicators were obtained and compared between patients with PHLF and those without PHLF.
PHLF occurred in 19 (23.75%) patients. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that gender, history of hepatitis/cirrhosis, and preoperative bilirubin, albumin, coagulation function, albumin-bilirubin ratio, aspartate amino-transferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score, spleen volume (SV), spleen volume/liver volume ratio (SV/LV), and relative remnant liver volume were statistically associated with the occurrence of PHLF (all P < 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed that preoperative total bilirubin, platelets (PLT), APRI, and SV/LV were independent risk factors for PHLF (all P < 0.05). The area under the curve and cut-off values were 0.787 and 18.6 mmol/L for total bilirubin, 0.893 and 146 × 1012/L for PLT, 0.907 and 0.416 for APRI, and 0.752 and 20.84% for SV/LV, respectively.
For patients undergoing liver resection, preoperative total bilirubin, PLT, APRI, and SV/LV are independent risk factors for PHLF. These findings may provide guidance to safely perform liver surgery in such patients.
Core Tip: The etiology of post-hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) is unclear. The volume of liver resection and the liver functional reserve are mainly used to evaluate the risk of PHLF. In this study we explored the risk factors for PHLF in patients with liver tumors. We found that preoperative total bilirubin, platelets, aspartate amino-transferase-to-platelet ratio index, and spleen volume/liver volume ratio are independent risk factors for PHLF. Both biochemical results and spleen volume on imaging should be considered before establishing a surgical plan to minimize the risk of PHLF. These findings may provide guidance to safely perform liver surgery in such patients.