BACKGROUND: Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) causes complications in liver transplantation, which result in poor prognosis. Recipients who develop PGD usually experience a longer intensive care unit and hospital stay and have higher mortality and graft loss rates compared with those without graft dysfunction. However, because of the lack of universally accepted deifnition, early diagnosis of graft dysfunction is dififcult. Additionally, numerous factors affect the allograft function after transplantation, making the prediction of PGD more dififcult. The present review was to analyze the literature available on PGD and to propose a deifnition. DATA SOURCE: A search of PubMed (up to the end of 2012) for English-language articles relevant to PGD was performed to clarify the characteristics, risk factors, and possible treatments or interventions for PGD. RESULTS: There is no pathological diagnostic standard; many documented deifnitions of PGD are different. Many factors, such as donor status, procurement and transplant process and recipient illness may affect the function of graft, and ischemia-reperfusion injury is considered the direct cause. Potential managements which are helpful to improve graft function were investigated. Some of them are promising. CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses suggested that the deifnition of PGD should include one or more of the following variables: (1) bilirubin ≥10 mg/dL on postoperative day 7; (2) international normalized ratio ≥1.6 on postoperative day 7; and (3) alanine aminotransferase or aspartate aminotransferase >2000 IU/L within 7 postoperative days. Reducing risk factors may decrease the incidence of PGD. A majority of the recipients could recover from PGD; however, when the graft progresses into primary non-function, the patients need to be treated with re-transplantation.
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