Pulmonary gas exchange abnormalities in liver transplant candidates

Abnormal diffusing capacity is the commonest pulmonary dysfunction in liver transplant candidates, but severe hypoxemia secondary to hepatopulmonary syndrome and significant pulmonary hypertension are pulmonary vascular manifestations of cirrhosis that may affect the perioperative course. We prospectively assessed the extent of pulmonary dysfunction in patients referred for liver transplantation. A total of 57 consecutive patients with chronic liver disease were evaluated. All patients had a chest radiograph, standing arterial blood gas on room air, pulmonary function testing, and Doppler echocardiogram. Those patients with arterial hypoxaemia (PaO(2) <10 kPa) also underwent (99m)Tc-macroaggregated albumin lung scan, and nine patients had agitated normal saline injection during echocardiography to define further the existence of pulmonary vascular dilatation. Reduced diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide less than 75% of the predicted value was found in 29 of 57 (51%) patients. Although elevated alveolar-arterial oxygen tension difference was detected in 35% (20/57) of the patients, only four (7%) patients had hypoxemia. We were unable to find evidence of intrapulmonary vascular dilatation either on the lung scan or saline-enhanced echocardiography in any of these patients. Reduction in diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide was noted in 75% (18/24) of patients who were transplanted for primary biliary cirrhosis and was accompanied by widened alveolar-arterial oxygen tension in 10 out of 18 (56%) of patients. This study shows that in liver transplant candidates, diffusion impairment and widened alveolar-arterial oxygen tension difference were frequently detected, especially in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.