Antecedentes: El trasplante hepático es la única opción terapéutica de los pacientes con enfermedad hepática terminal. El trasplante de donante cadavérico es menos probable en nuestro país. Por esto se desarrolló el programa de trasplante hepático de donante vivo desde el año 2005 en nuestro país. Pacientes y métodos: Se revisaron las historias de 39 donantes. Cada donante fue sometido al protocolo de evaluación pretrasplante incluyendo, laboratorio, angiotomografía, colangioresonancia, evaluación psiquiátrica, social y biopsia hepática de ser necesaria. Resultados: Incluimos 39 individuos entre 18 y 52 años. Solo 9 donantes presentaron complicaciones: 4 colecciones intraabdominales, 4 infecciones de la herida, 2 fístulas biliares, 1 endocarditis, 1 enterocolitis y 1 ameritó reintervención por colección intraabdominal. No se registró mortalidad. Se realizaron 17 hepatectomías laterales izquierdas, 15 izquierdas, y 7 derechas. Posterior a 3 meses los donantes tenían el mismo volumen hepático previo a la donación. Todos están en condiciones físicas satisfactorias y regresaron a sus actividades cotidianas entre 1 y 3 meses después de la donación. Conclusión: La evolución de todos los donantes fue satisfactoria lográndose la reincorporación a sus actividades habituales en corto plazo. El trasplante hepático de donante vivo relacionado es un procedimiento seguro para los donantes.

Background: Liver transplantation is the only therapeutic option for patients with end stage liver disease. Liver transplantation from cadaveric donors is less probable in our country. For all this the living donor liver transplantation program was developed in our country since 2005. Patients and methods: The medical histories of 39 donors were reviewed. Each donor underwent the pretransplant evaluation protocol that includes laboratory, angioTAC, colangioMRI, psychiatric, social evaluation and hepatic biopsy if necesary. Results: we included 39 individuals with ages between 18 and 52 years. Only 9 donors developed complications: 4 intraabdominal collections, 4 wound infections, 2 biliary fistulae, 1 endocarditis, 1 enterocolitis, and 1 patient needed surgery for an intrabdominal collection. No mortality has been registered. 17 left lateral, 15 left and 7 right hepatectomies were done. After 3 months the donors had the same hepatic volume prior to donation surgery. They are all in excellent physical conditions and have returned to their daily activities within a period between 1 and 3 months after donation. Conclusion: The outcome of each donor was satisfactory being able to return to their daily activities in a short term. Living donor liver transplantation is a safe procedure for donors and constitutes an alternative for our patients that need hepatic transplantation.

OBJETIVO: Analisar, numa ampla amostra, o valor crítico da citrulina que confirma a presença das principais complicações do enxerto: rejeição e infecção. MÉTODOS: Foram coletadas 2135 amostras de citrulina sérica, na forma de gota de sangue seca, de 57 doentes submetidos a transplante de intestino/multivisceral no Jackson Memorial Hospital na Universidade de Miami, de março de 2004 a abril de 2006. Todas as amostras são do pós-operatório três meses em diante, passada a conhecida curva de elevação da citrulina após a recuperação das lesões causadas pela isquemia e reperfusão do pós-transplante. RESULTADOS: Utilizando um valor limite menor que 13 µmoles/L, a sensibilidade da citrulina foi de 96,4% para detectar rejeicão celular aguda (RCA) moderada ou grave. A especificidade para as complicações mais freqüentes, rejeição e infecção foi de 54%-74% nas crianças e 83%-88% nos adultos, e o valor preditivo negativo (VPN) foi > 99%. CONCLUSÃO: A citrulina pode ser utilizada como método não-invasivo para avaliar a evolução do enxerto intestinal após três meses do TI. Os episódios de RCA moderado e grave podem ser afastados quando o valor da citrulina for maior que 13 µmoles/L devido ao alto valor preditivo negativo.

OBJECITIVE: A biochemical marker for detection of acute cellular rejection following small intestine transplantation has been sought. Citrulline, a non- protein amino acid synthesized mainly by functioning enterocytes, has been proposed. Trial sensitivity has been reportedly high but with low specificity. Thus, the goal was to determine, in a sufficiently large analysis, the significant value of citrulline level in the post-transplant setting, which would correlate with complications such as rejection and infection. METHODS: Since March, 2004 2,135 dried blood spot (DBS) citrulline samples were obtained from 57 small intestine transplant recipients three months or more after post-transplant, i.e., once the expected period of recovery in the citrulline levels had occurred. RESULTS: Using a <13 vs. > 13 µmoles/L cut off point, sensitivity of DBS citrulline for the detection of moderate or severe ACR was extremely high (96.4%). Furthermore, specificity estimates (given the absence of ACR and these particular infections), while controlling for time-to-DBS sample were reasonably high (54%-74% in children and 83%-88% in adults), and the negative predictive value (NPV) was >99%. CONCLUSION: Citrulline is a non-invasive marker to evaluate problems of the intestinal graft after three months post-transplant. Due to the high NPV, a moderate or severe ACR can be ruled out, based exclusively on knowledge of a high value for DBS citrulline.