Early postoperative respiratory complications in liver transplant patients according to the Clavien-Dindo classification
Keywords:
liver transplantation, mechanical ventilation, pneumoniaAbstract
Introduction: Liver transplantation is the treatment of choice for end-stage chronic liver diseases and acute liver failure. Although its outcomes are favorable, postoperative complications can occur, including surgical and medical ones, among them respiratory complications.
Objective: To characterize the severity of respiratory complications according to the Clavien-Dindo classification in the early postoperative period of patients undergoing liver transplantation.
Methods: Descriptive, observational study of a series of 66 patients who underwent liver transplantation with respiratory complications, from July 1999 to April 2019, in the intensive care unit of the Center for Medical-Surgical Research. Variables described include age, sex, pretransplant indications, types of respiratory complications, severity of complications according to Clavien-Dindo, duration of mechanical ventilation, and length of stay in the intensive care unit.
Results: Pneumonia was the most frequent respiratory complication (32; 39.5%). Severe complications occurred in 45 (68.0%) patients, the majority of whom were male (34; 77.2%). Alcoholic cirrhosis was the most frequent etiology among severe patients (18; 90%), with longer durations of mechanical ventilation (40; 75.4%) and intensive care unit stay (42; 82.3%).
Conclusions: Respiratory complications negatively influence the postoperative evolution of liver transplant patients. The Clavien-Dindo classification standardizes the severity in a simple and practical way, and therefore should be applied systematically to optimize outcomes in surgical services.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Francisco Gómez Peire, Anselmo A. Abdo Cuza, Marcia Samada Suárez, Lisset Barroso Márquez, Carmen Elena Viada González, Milidza Ayllón Castañera
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