The Effect of Octreotide on Urine Output During Orthotopic Liver Transplantation and Early Postoperative Renal Function; A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Maintenance of the adequate intraoperative renal perfusion is very important during Orthotopic Liver Transplantation (OLT) to prevent acute renal failure. OBJECTIVES: For the first time, this study was designed to survey the effects of octreotide on urine output during anesthesia for OLT and early postoperative renal function. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this randomized double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial, 79 of 89 patients who underwent OLT and fulfilled the study requirement were randomly allocated into two groups. In the octreotide group, the patients received octreotide infusion from the start of the operation. On the other hand, the control group patients received physiologic saline infusion instead of octreotide. The Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), heart rate, urine output, norepinephrine usage, and dosage during the three stages of OLT, and baseline and postoperative creatinine were recorded and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding the demographic characteristics and graft factors (P > 0.05). However, urine output and MAP during the three stages of OLT were significantly higher in the octreotide group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, no significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding baseline as well as postoperative creatinine (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated that octreotide infusion during anesthesia for OLT not only augmented the vasoconstriction effect of norepinephrine to increase MAP, but also maintained better renal perfusion and urine output during the operation.