Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis for Preoperative Volemia Assessment in Living Donor Hepatectomy

Donor safety remains an important concern. We introduced preoperative bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in living donor hepatectomy, as it is a practical method for volemia assessment with the advantages of noninvasiveness, rapid processing, easy handling, and it is relatively inexpensive. We analyzed 51 living donors who underwent right hemihepatectomy between July 2015 and May 2022. The ratio of extracellular water:total body water (ECW/TBW; an index of volemic status) was measured. ECT/TBW < 0.378 was correlated to central venous pressure (CVP) < 5 mm Hg in a previous study and we used this value for personalized preoperative management. In the BIA group (n = 21), donors with ECW/TBW ≥ 0.378 (n = 12) required whole-day nothing by mouth (NPO), whereas those with ECW/TBW < 0.378 (n = 9) required midnight NPO, similar to the control group (n = 30). In comparison with the control group, the BIA group had a significantly lower central venous pressure (p < 0.001) from the start of surgery to the end of surgery, leading to a better surgical field grade (p = 0.045) and decreased operative duration (240.5 ± 45.6 vs. 276.5 ± 54.0 min, p = 0.016). A cleaner surgical field (surgical field grade 1) was significantly associated with decreased operative duration (p = 0.001) and estimated blood loss (p < 0.001). Preoperative BIA was the only significant predictor of a cleaner surgical field (odds ratio, 6.914; 95% confidence interval, 1.6985–28.191, p = 0.007). In conclusion, preoperative volemia assessment using BIA can improve operative outcomes by creating a favorable surgical environment in living donor hepatectomy.