Abstract
Introduction: Inflammatory events after brain death (BD) generally influence the quality of donated organs and adversely affect the outcome of transplant surgeries. Vitamin C is a natural organic compound with potent antioxidant properties. Changes in serum levels of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) following BD are still unknown. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the changes in serum vitamin C levels in brain dead donors in the time elapsed between BD diagnosis and at once before procurement procedure of donated organs. Patients and Methods: In this experimental study, serum vitamin C levels were measured in 37 brain-dead donors (BDDs) at two time points, primarily on admission (R1) and just before organ procurement (R2). The difference between mean values of R1-R2 was analyzed according to the parameters of brain dead donor’s, which consisted of gender, cause of BD, and type of blood group. Results: A total of 37 BDDs (62.2% male) with a mean age of 26.48±18.1 years were included. Time interval between the two samplings was 40.09±12.10 hours. Overall, there was a statistically significant difference between serum ascorbic acid (AA) levels at admission (R1) and immediately before organ procurement (R2) (P=0.016). However, in terms of the cause of BD and blood type, no significant difference in serum AA at the two-time points was detected (P=0.85 and P=0.79 respectively). Conclusion: Significant differences were observed between serum vitamin C levels in the duration between BD diagnosis and immediately before procurement surgery. Therefore, determining the most effective dose of vitamin C supplementation and the best time to administer it to the patients is highly recommended for future studies.
Highlights
Inflammatory events after brain death (BD) generally influence the quality of donated organs and adversely affect the outcome of transplant surgeries
This study aimed to evaluate the changes in serum ascorbic acid (AA) levels in deceased solid organ donors between declaring BD and organ procurement
Blood samples were obtained from brain-dead donors (BDDs) once in the intensive care unit (ICU) when they were accepted as organ donors and again in the operating room immediately before the organ procurement process
Summary
Inflammatory events after brain death (BD) generally influence the quality of donated organs and adversely affect the outcome of transplant surgeries. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the changes in serum vitamin C levels in brain dead donors in the time elapsed between BD diagnosis and at once before procurement procedure of donated organs. Patients and Methods: In this experimental study, serum vitamin C levels were measured in 37 brain-dead donors (BDDs) at two time points, primarily on admission (R1) and just before organ procurement (R2). There was a statistically significant difference between serum ascorbic acid (AA) levels at admission (R1) and immediately before organ procurement (R2) (P = 0.016). In terms of the cause of BD and blood type, no significant difference in serum AA at the two-time points was detected (P = 0.85 and P = 0.79 respectively). Conclusion: Significant differences were observed between serum vitamin C levels in the duration between BD diagnosis and immediately before procurement surgery. The main consequences of secondary brain injury are inflammation and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to apoptosis
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