Combined Drug Approach to Prevent Ischemia-reperfusion Injury During Transplantation of Livers (CAPITL)

This unicentric, investigator-driven, open-label randomized clinical trial with 2 parallel arms was conducted in Belgium from September 2013 through February 2018, with 1-year follow-up. Adults wait-listed for a first solitary full-size liver transplant were screened for eligibility. Exclusion criteria were acute liver failure, kidney failure, contraindication to treatment, participation in another trial, refusal, technical issues, and death while awaiting transplant. Included patients were enrolled and randomized at the time of liver offer. Data were analyzed from May 20, 2019, to May 27, 2020.

Participants were randomized to a combined drug approach with standard of care (static cold storage) or standard of care only (control group). In the combined drug approach group, following static cold preservation, donor livers were infused with epoprostenol (ex situ, portal vein); recipients were given oral α-tocopherol and melatonin prior to anesthesia and intravenous antithrombin III, infliximab, apotransferrin, recombinant erythropoietin-β, C1-inhibitor, and glutathione during the anhepatic and reperfusion phase.

The primary outcome was the posttransplant peak serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level within the first 72 hours. Secondary end points were the frequencies of postreperfusion syndrome, ischemia-reperfusion injury score, early allograft dysfunction, surgical complications, ischemic cholangiopathy, acute kidney injury, acute cellular rejection, and graft and patient survival.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients suffering from irreversible liver failure eligible for liver transplantation according to Eurotransplant guidelines.
• Patients > 18 years of age at time of listing on Eurotransplant waiting list for liver transplantation in University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients who refuse to participate in the study.
• History of hypersensitivity to one/several component(s) of the combined drug approach.
• Conditions that prevent the use of the combined drug approach:

• Administration of heparin at therapeutic dose pre-operatively,
• Congestive heart failure,
• History of seizure, poorly controlled arterial hypertension, myocardial infarction or stroke in the month preceding the liver transplantation, venous thromboembolic disease,
• Unstable angina pectoris,
• Sepsis, abcesses or opportunistic infections,
• History of infliximab treatment,
• Use of vitamin K antagonist anticoagulation.
• Mental conditions rendering the subject incapable to understand the nature, scope, and consequences of the trial.
• Combined organ transplantation.
• Re-transplantation.
• Patients that are dialysis-dependent prior to the liver transplantation.