Recovery of Hepatic Drug Extraction After Hypothermic Preservation

Abstract

Comment: This is an extremely well done study, and the authors are to be congratulated for using the model they did and performing the study as well as they have. But perhaps they come up with their own best comment about the article in their closing lines, when they state, “Future work may indicate whether compromised drug metabolism is a sensitive and/or specific marker of dysfunction in the transplanted liver.” It has always been a mystery why the 5 or 10% of livers or greater percentage of kidneys shut down function soon after being in place when they appear to be adequately perfused and preserved. We need early markers of this destruction if we are to understand and prevent it. One marker that has been tried and continues to be tried is to look at perfusion, especially with sophisticated techniques such as perfusion of air microspheres with ultrasound. Whether the perfusion to the small areas of the liver is a good marker or whether compromised drug metabolism is a better marker, meaning more specific and more sensitive, remains to be determined.