Background Dexmedetomidine (DEX) attenuates hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) in adult liver transplantation (LT), but its effects on postoperative liver graft function in pediatric LT remain unclear. We sought to investigate whether intraoperative DEX administration was associated with improved liver graft function in pediatric LT recipients. It was hypothesized that DEX administration was associated with reduced HIRI and improved liver graft function. Material/Methods From November 2015 to May 2020, 54 deceased pediatric LT recipients were categorized into a control group and a DEX group. Intraoperatively, the DEX group received an additional infusion of DEX at 0.4 μg/kg/h from incision to the end of the operation in comparison with the control group. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data were reviewed. Postoperative liver enzyme levels and HIRI severity were assessed and compared. Independent risk factors for HIRI were determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis using a stepwise forward conditional method. Results We enrolled 28 and 26 patients in the DEX and control groups, respectively. Patients in the DEX group exhibited a reduced incidence of moderate-to-severe HIRI (88.5% vs 60.7%, P =0.020) and decreased level of serum alanine aminotransferase (median [interquartile range]: 407 [230–826] vs 714 [527–1492] IU/L, P =0.048) compared with the controls. Binary logistic analysis revealed that longer cold ischemia time (odds ratio [OR]=1.006; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.000–1.013; P =0.044) and intraoperative DEX use (OR=0.198; 95% CI=0.045–0.878; P =0.033) were independent predictors for moderate-to-severe HIRI. Conclusions Intraoperative low-dose DEX administration was associated with a lower incidence of moderate-to-severe HIRI in pediatric deceased LT. However, further studies are needed to confirm our results and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

BackgroundHepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI) is largely unavoidable during liver transplantation (LT). Dexmedetomidine (DEX), an α2-adrenergic agonist, exerts a variety of organ-protective effects in pediatric populations. However, evidence remains relatively limited about its hepatoprotective effects in pediatric living-related LT.MethodsA total of 121 pediatric patients undergoing living-related LT from June 2015 to December 2018 in our hospital were enrolled. They were classified into DEX or non-DEX groups according to whether an infusion of DEX was initiated from incision to the end of surgery. Primary outcomes were postoperative liver graft function and the severity of HIRI. Multivariate logistic regression and propensity score matching (PSM) analyses were performed to identify any association.ResultsA 1:1 matching yielded 35 well-balanced pairs. Before matching, no significant difference was found in baseline characteristics between groups except for warm ischemia time, which was longer in the non-DEX group (44 [38–50] vs. 40 [37–44] min, p = 0.017). After matching, the postoperative peak lactic dehydrogenase levels decreased significantly in the DEX group than in the non-DEX group (622 [516–909] vs. 970 [648–1,490] IU/L, p = 0.002). Although there was no statistical significance, a tendency toward a decrease in moderate-to-extreme HIRI rate was noted in the DEX group compared to the non-DEX group (68.6% vs. 82.9%, p = 0.163). Patients in the DEX group also received a significantly larger dosage of epinephrine as postreperfusion syndrome (PRS) treatment (0.28 [0.17–0.32] vs. 0.17 [0.06–0.30] µg/kg, p = 0.010). However, there were no significant differences between groups in PRS and acute kidney injury incidences, mechanical ventilation duration, intensive care unit, and hospital lengths of stay. Multivariate analysis revealed a larger graft-to-recipient weight ratio (odds ratio [OR] 2.657, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.132–6.239, p = 0.025) and intraoperative DEX administration (OR 0.333, 95% CI, 0.130–0.851, p = 0.022) to be independent predictors of moderate-to-extreme HIRI.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that intraoperative DEX could potentially decrease the risk of HIRI but was associated with a significant increase in epinephrine requirement for PRS in pediatric living-related LT. Further studies, including randomized controlled studies, are warranted to provide more robust evidence.