Comparison of the group treated with terlipressin and group no treated with terlipressin in terms of blood loss in blood transfusion reduction in the liver transplant recipient

Objective: To point out the effects of vasoactive drugs, especially low-dose Terlipressin infusions on blood loss and blood transfusion requirements during living-donor liver transplantations.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 200 living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) cases were analyzed. During liver transplantation, the variables studied were, blood loss, blood transfusion and blood volumes returned by cell-saver. The study subjects were mainly divided in two groups i.e. Case & Control. Both groups consisted of 100 patients each. The Case group received Terlipressin while Control group didn’t receive Terlipressin. Both groups were equally treated in anesthetic and transfusion management.

Results:The calculated blood loss during liver transplantation waslower in Case group as compared to Control group i.e. mean value of Case group was 1.5 while mean value of Control group was 3.37. Furthermore, the reduction of blood transfusion was also lower in Case group as compared to Control group i.e. mean value of Case group was 1.7 while mean value of Control group was 4.85. The results were highly statistically significant because (p=<0.01).

Conclusions: To minimize blood loss and blood transfusion in liver transplantation may be contributed to the use of Terlipressin infusion. A low-dose (0.04U/min) Terlipressininfusion may be an appropriate solution for reduction of blood loss and transfusion during liver transplantation.