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Impact of 3-D glucan during liver transplantation
Background/Aims:
β-D glucan in the portal vein blood is processed by the hepatic reticuloendothelial system, and therefore, it is possible that the β-D glucan kinetics of the peripheral vein blood may be useful as a biological index. In this study, the β-D glucan levels in the peripheral and portal vein blood during liver transplantation were measured in order to study the clinical significance of the molecule.
Methodology:
The subjects comprised 20 patients who underwent living donor liver transplantation. In the perioperative period, the β-D glucan levels were measured before liver transplantation, during surgical procedure, then on postoperative days 5, 14 and 21.
Results:
The portal vein blood showed a significantly higher level of β-D glucan than the peripheral blood (p<0.001). A significant difference of β-D glucan levels was observed between the pre-liver transplantation and postoperative days 5 (p=0.048). There was a significant positive correlation between the preoperative β-D glucan level and the period of postoperative hospitalization (p<0.001). The patients with fungal infections (35.0%) had a significantly longer period of hospitalization (p=0.019).
Conclusions:
The β-D glucan kinetics accurately reflects the liver function and fungal infections. The β-D glucan level before liver transplantation can be used to
