Two-stage goal-directed therapy protocol for non-donor open hepatectomy: an interventional before-after study

Purpose Hemodynamic management during low central venous pressure (L-CVP)-assisted hepatectomy involves fluid restriction during resection and fluid resuscitation after resection. Recently, high stroke volume variation (SVV) has been reported as an alternative to L-CVP for reducing blood loss during a hepatectomy. The current study evaluated the impact of a newly implemented SVV-based goal-directed therapy (GDT) protocol on blood loss during hepatectomy. Methods We conducted a before-after comparative study, which included L-CVP-assisted hepatectomy cases (control group) and GDT-assisted hepatectomy cases (intervention group). The GDT protocol included SVV, cardiac index, and mean arterial pressure as hemodynamic parameters. The target SVV ranges were >= 13% and <= 12% before and after the resection, respectively. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients whose blood loss was <400 mL (median of our hepatectomy cases) in the GDT group, and it was compared to a predefined threshold of 50%. We also investigated factors associated with blood loss using multiple regression analysis. Results We included 66 patients in the control group and 50 in the GDT group. In the GDT group, the median blood loss was 220 mL and 36 patients (72%) lost <400 mL blood. This was significantly greater than 50% (P<0.001). Post-resection GDT-guided fluid optimization reduced positive intraoperative fluid balance compared to that achieved by the conventional fluid therapy used in the control. Multiple regression analysis showed that GDT application, epidural anesthesia, operative time, and hydroxyethyl-starch infusion volume were associated with blood loss. Conclusion Compared to conventional management, SVV-guided GDT may reduce blood loss during hepatectomies.