Clevenger, Ben;
(2018)
Microcirculation and the effects of blood transfusion in liver transplantation.
Doctoral thesis (M.D(Res)), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Liver disease represents a growing public health issue and is a significant cause of death worldwide. Liver transplantation remains the definitive treatment for end stage liver disease. Liver transplantation is traditionally associated with high rates of haemorrhage and intraoperative blood transfusion. There is evidence that both blood loss, and, although often necessary and lifesaving, blood transfusions are associated with adverse outcomes after liver transplantation. Cirrhosis represents a chronic inflammatory state that develops due to progressive liver damage. Cirrhosis results in circulatory alterations throughout the body, affecting different tissues and organs, and their microcirculation, in a heterogeneous manner. Non-invasive methods of microcirculatory monitoring can now be utilised to examine the effects of liver disease upon microcirculatory blood flow and vascular reactivity. Experiments to examine effect of blood transfusion, bleeding and surgery upon the microcirculation and vascular reactivity during liver transplantation were undertaken. Despite improvements in haemoglobin concentration with blood transfusion there was no significant improvement in microcirculatory flow. Over the duration of the liver transplant, in spite of alterations in haemoglobin and macrovascular measures of circulatory adequacy, there was no correlation with indices of microvascular flow. Microcirculatory flow and tissue oxygenation was well maintained even at low haemoglobin concentrations without significant alteration by blood transfusion, suggesting that even lower transfusion thresholds might safely be adopted. Further work should assess the efficacy of treating preoperative anaemia and safe transfusion thresholds in liver transplantation.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | M.D(Res) |
| Title: | Microcirculation and the effects of blood transfusion in liver transplantation |
| Event: | UCL (University College London) |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2018. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci > Department of Surgical Biotechnology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10064632 |
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