Effect of Preoperative Oral Carbohydrate Loading on Postoperative Outcomes in Liver Transplant Patients: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to evaluate the effect of preoperative oral carbohydrate loading on recovery after liver transplantation. It seeks to assess whether drinking a carbohydrate beverage before surgery can improve postoperative outcomes like shortening hospital stay, reducing intensive care unit time, and speeding up the return of gastrointestinal function. The trial involves adult patients undergoing elective liver transplantation with grafts from brain-dead donors and a MELD score below 35. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. The study group receives 400 mL of a carbohydrate drink called Nutricia preOp®, consumed up to 2 hours before anesthesia starts. The control group receives 400 mL of a water-based placebo drink with a similar taste and appearance, also taken up to 2 hours before anesthesia. Neither the participants nor the researchers know which group each patient is in. Follow-up includes routine lab and imaging tests during the hospital stay and clinical monitoring for 30 days after surgery. Patients will be monitored through standard postoperative tests and clinical visits, with no additional biological samples collected for the study. Researchers will measure the primary outcome of Hospital-Free Days at 30 (HFD30), which counts days alive and discharged within 30 days post-transplant. Secondary outcomes include time to first oral intake, return of gastrointestinal function, infections, length of ICU stay, and postoperative complications. The follow-up schedule follows usual clinical practice, spanning up to 30 days after liver transplantation.

Effect of Preoperative Oral Carbohydrate Loading on Postoperative Outcomes in Liver Transplant Patients