Lactate levels in open interstitial thermal ablation for liver tumors

Intraoperative radio frequency interstitial thermal ablation (RITA) may result in a reduction of the functional hepatic reserve. To assess this further, we evaluated perioperative lactate levels as a measure of hepatic dysfunction. Sixteen patients scheduled for open RITA (O-RITA) were enrolled in the study. Arterial lactate levels (mmol/L) were measured prior to tumor needle insertion (T₀), after O-RITA completion (T₁), after wound closure (T₂) and 24 hrs after surgery (T₃). Correlation between hemodynamic parameters including MAP, and CVP, at T₀, T₁, T₂, T₃ and the perioperative rate of lactate production were also analyzed. Total bilirubin, transaminases and international normalized ratio for prothrombin activity (INR) were measured preoperatively and postoperative at day 1, 2, 3 and 7. Data are expressed as mean ± SD and analyzed with ANOVA. Additionally, the Duncan post hoc test was used for multiple comparisons of the differences in mean values. A p-value