Tsuge H, Mimura H, Orita K, Sugawara M, Hashimoto K, Ochiai Y
First Department of Surgery, Okayama University Medical School, Japan.
Hepatogastroenterology. 1991 Dec;38 Suppl 1:56-62.
Evaluation of postoperative disturbance in the sodium and water balance was made in eight patients with compensated liver cirrhosis who had undergone segmental hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma and had received unrestricted administration of sodium and water to maintain a normal urine output. On postoperative day 3, a significantly higher plasma atrial natriuretic peptide level and a significantly lower plasma aldosterone level were noted compared with postoperative day 1: the hormonal levels on postoperative day 3 were similar to the postinfusion levels obtained by the preoperative saline-loading test, which was performed to assess the physiological control of effective extracellular fluid and blood volume. Pulmonary artery and pulmonary wedge pressures were slightly, but significantly, higher on postoperative day 3 than on postoperative day 1. These results suggest that unrestricted fluid management prevents the depletion of effective extracellular fluid and blood volume on postoperative day 1, and permits their slight excess on postoperative day 3.
