Impact of conventional vs. goal-directed fluid therapy on urethral tissue perfusion in patients undergoing liver surgery: A pilot randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND Although fluid administration is a key strategy to optimise haemodynamic status and tissue perfusion, optimal fluid administration during liver surgery remains controversial. OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that a goal-directed fluid therapy (GDFT) strategy, when compared with a conventional fluid strategy, would better optimise systemic blood flow and lead to improved urethral tissue perfusion (a new variable to assess peripheral blood flow), without increasing blood loss. DESIGN Single-centre prospective randomised controlled superiority study. SETTING Erasme Hospital. PATIENTS Patients undergoing liver surgery. INTERVENTION Forty patients were randomised into two groups: all received a basal crystalloid infusion (maximum 2 ml kg−1 h−1). In the conventional fluid group, the goal was to maintain central venous pressure (CVP) as low as possible during the dissection phase by giving minimal additional fluid, while in the posttransection phase, anaesthetists were free to compensate for any presumed fluid deficit. In the GDFT group, patients received in addition to the basal infusion, multiple minifluid challenges of crystalloid to maintain stroke volume (SV) variation less than 13%. Noradrenaline infusion was titrated to keep mean arterial pressure more than 65 mmHg in all patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The mean intra-operative urethral perfusion index. RESULTS The mean urethral perfusion index was sig...
Source: European Journal of Anaesthesiology - Category: Anesthesiology Tags: Anaesthesia Source Type: research