Background. Normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) bears the potential for significant prolongation of liver preservation before transplantation. Although safety and feasibility have been recently published, no data are available describing the significant challenges of establishing NMP programs outside clinical studies. We herein present our experience and propose a multidisciplinary approach for liver NMP in the clinical routine. Methods. In February 2018, liver NMP was introduced for routine use in marginal organs, logistic challenges, and complex recipients at our institution. In a multidisciplinary effort among transplant coordinators, perfusionists, transplant surgeons, anesthesia, nurses, blood bank as well as laboratory staff, a clinical routine was established and 34 NMP cases were performed without critical incidents or organ loss. Results. Nine livers were discarded due to poor organ quality and function observed during NMP. Twenty-five livers were successfully transplanted after preservation of up to 38 h. The extended criteria donors rate was 100% and 92% in discarded and transplanted livers, respectively. Nighttime procedures and parallel transplantations were eventually omitted. Graft and patient survival was 88% at 20 mo. No cholangiopathy was observed despite the use of extended criteria donor organs in 92% of cases. Conclusions. NMP in a multidisciplinary approach enables a safe prolongation of liver preservation and overnight organ care. A first field test of NMP indicates safety and benefit of this approach.

Background A widespread shift to non-operative management (NOM) for blunt hepatic and splenic injuries has been observed in most centers worldwide. Furthermore, many countries introduced safety measures to systematically reduce severe traffic and leisure sports injuries. This study aims to evaluate the effect of these nationwide implementations on individual patient characteristics and outcomes through a time-trend analysis over 17 years in an Austrian high-volume trauma center. Methods A retrospective review of all emergency trauma patients admitted to the Medical University of Innsbruck from 2000 to 2016. Injury severity, clinical data on admission, operative and non-operative treatment parameters, complications, and in-hospital mortality were evaluated. Results In total, 731 patients were treated with blunt hepatic and/or splenic injuries. Among these, 368 had a liver injury, 280 splenic injury, and 83 combined hepatic/splenic injury. Initial NOM was performed in 82.6% of all patients (93.5% in hepatic and 71.8% in splenic injuries) with a success rate of 96.7%. The secondary failure rate of NOM was 3.3% and remained consistent over 17 years ( p = 0.515). In terms of injury severity, we observed a reduction over time, resulting in an overall mortality rate of 4.8% and 3.5% in the NOM group (decreasing from 7.5 to 1.9% and from 5.6 to 1.3%, respectively). These outcomes confirmed an improved utilization of the NOM approach. Conclusion Our cohort represents one of the largest Central European single-center experiences available in the literature. NOM is the standard of care for blunt hepatic and splenic injuries and successful in > 96% of all patients. This rate was quite constant over 17 years ( p = 0.515). Overall, national and regional safety measures resulted in a significantly decreased severity of observed injury patterns and deaths due to blunt hepatic or splenic trauma. Although surgery is nowadays only applied in about one third of splenic injury patients in our center, these numbers might further decrease by intensified application of interventional radiology and modern coagulation management. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13017-019-0249-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

participated in data collection, data analysis, and critical revision of the article. C.I. and A.G. contributed reagents, analytic tools, and participated in data analysis. M.R. and H.U. participated in data analysis and statistical support. D.Ö. and J.T. supported the study, contributed research advice, and revised the article critically.

Background Given the susceptibility of organs to ischaemic injury, alternative preservation methods to static cold storage (SCS), such as normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) are emerging. The aim of this study was to perform a comparison between NMP and SCS in liver transplantation with particular attention to bile duct lesions. Methods The outcomes of 59 consecutive NMP-preserved donor livers were compared in a 1 : 1 propensity score-matched fashion to SCS control livers. Postoperative complications, patient survival, graft survival and bile duct lesions were analysed. Results While patients were matched for cold ischaemia time, the total preservation time was significantly longer in the NMP group (21 h versus 7 h, P < 0.001). Patient and graft survival rates at 1 year were 81 versus 82 per cent (P = 0.347) and 81 versus 79 per cent (P = 0.784) in the NMP and SCS groups, respectively. The postoperative complication rate was comparable (P = 0.086); 37 per cent NMP versus 34 per cent SCS patients had a Clavien-Dindo grade IIIb or above complication. There was no difference in early (30 days or less) (NMP 22 versus SCS 19 per cent, P = 0.647) and late (more than 30 days) (NMP 27 versus SCS 36 per cent, P = 0.321) biliary complications. However, NMP-preserved livers developed significantly fewer ischaemic-type bile duct lesions (NMP 3 versus SCS 14 per cent, P = 0.047). Conclusion The use of NMP allowed for a significantly prolonged organ preservation with a lower rate of observed ischaemic-type bile duct lesions.

SummaryBackgroundManagement of benign liver tumours (BLT) is still object of discussion. Uncertainty still exists about patient selection, details of management, indications for surgical intervention and potential surgery-related complications. The up-to-date strategies for management of the most common benign solid tumours are recapitulated in this article. In addition, recommendations concerning practical issues are presented.MethodsAvailable data from peer-reviewed publications associated with the major controversies concerning treatment strategies of solid BLT were selected through a PubMed literature search.ResultsNon-randomized controlled trials, retrospective series and case reports dominate the literature. Conservative management in BLT is associated with low overall morbidity and mortality when applied in an appropriate patient population. Surgical intervention is indicated solely in the presence of progressive symptoms and suspicion of a malignant change. Linking abdominal symptoms to BLT should be interpreted with caution. No evidence is recorded for malignant transformation in haemangiomas and focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH), while a subgroup of hepatocellular adenoma (HCA) is associated with malignancy. Follow-up controls of BLT at 3 and 6 months should be sufficient to prove the stability of the lesion and its benign nature, after which no long-term follow-up is required routinely. However, many questions regarding this topic remain without definitive answers in the literature.ConclusionConservative management of solid BLT is a worldwide trend, but the available literature does not provide high-grade evidence for this strategy. Consequently, further prospective investigations on the unclear aspects are required. Hence, this article summarises practical highlights of therapeutic strategies.

Objectives Non-operative management (NOM) is increasingly utilised in blunt abdominal trauma. The 1994 American Association of Surgery of Trauma grading (1994-AAST) is applied for clinical decision-making in many institutions. Recently, classifications incorporating contrast extravasation such as the CT severity index (CTSI) and 2018 update of the liver and spleen AAST were proposed to predict outcome and guide treatment, but validation is pending. Methods CT images of patients admitted 2000–2016 with blunt splenic and hepatic injury were systematically re-evaluated for 1994/2018-AAST and CTSI grading. Diagnostic accuracy, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and positive and negative predictive values were calculated for prediction of in-hospital mortality. Correlation with treatment strategy was assessed by Cramer V statistics. Results Seven hundred and three patients were analysed, 271 with splenic, 352 with hepatic and 80 with hepatosplenic injury. Primary NOM was applied in 83% of patients; mortality was 4.8%. Comparing prediction of mortality in mild and severe splenic injuries, the CTSI (3.1% vs. 10.3%; diagnostic accuracy = 75.4%; DOR = 3.66; p = 0.006) and 1994-AAST (3.3% vs. 10.5%; diagnostic accuracy = 77.9%; DOR = 3.45; p = 0.010) were more accurate compared with the 2018-AAST (3.4% vs. 8%; diagnostic accuracy = 68.2%; DOR = 2.50; p = 0.059). In hepatic injuries, the CTSI was superior to both AAST classifications in terms of diagnostic accuracy (88.7% vs. 77.1% and 77.3%, respectively). CTSI and 2018-AAST correlated better with the need for surgery in severe vs. mild hepatic (Cramer V = 0.464 and 0.498) and splenic injuries (Cramer V = 0.273 and 0.293) compared with 1994-AAST (Cramer V = 0.389 and 0.255; all p < 0.001). Conclusions The 2018-AAST and CTSI are superior to the 1994-AAST in correlation with operative treatment in splenic and hepatic trauma. The CTSI outperforms the 2018-AAST in mortality prediction. Key Points • Non-operative management of blunt abdominal trauma is increasingly applied and correct patient stratification is crucial. • CT-based scoring systems are used to assess injury severity and guide clinical decision-making, whereby the 1994 version of the American Association of Surgery of Trauma Organ Injury Scale (AAST-OIS) is currently most commonly utilised. • Including contrast media extravasation in CT-based grading improves management and outcome prediction. While the 2018-AAST classification and the CT-severity-index (CTSI) better correlate with need for surgery compared to the 1994-AAST, the CTSI is superior in outcome-prediction to the 2018-AAST.

SummaryBackgroundNon-operative management (NOM) of blunt hepatic and splenic injuries has become popular in haemodynamically stable adult patients, despite uncertainty about efficacy, patient selection, and details of management. Up-to-date strategies and practical recommendations are presented.MethodsA selective literature search was conducted in PubMed and the Cochrane Library (1989–2016).ResultsNo randomized clinical trial was found. Non-randomized controlled trials and large retrospective and prospective series dominate. Few systematic reviews and meta-analyses are available. NOM of selected patients with blunt liver and spleen injuries is associated with low morbidity and mortality. Only data of limited evidence are available on intensity and duration of patient monitoring, repeat imaging, antithrombotic prophylaxis and return to normal activity. There is high-level evidence on early mobilisation and post-splenectomy vaccination.ConclusionNOM of blunt liver or spleen injuries is a worldwide trend, but the literature does not provide high-grade evidence for this strategy.

This study investigated the effect of low-dose aspirin in primary adult liver transplantation (LT) on acute cellular rejection (ACR) as well as arterial patency rates. The use of low-dose aspirin after LT is practiced by many transplant centers to minimize the risk of hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT), although