The effects of circulating interleukin-8 and adhesion molecules on pulmonary dysfunction in pediatric orthotopic liver transplantation.

We investigated the effects of circulating inflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules induced by ortho-topic liver transplantation (OLT) on pulmonary function. Although the plasma interleukin-8 (IL-8) levels increased gradually, peaking at the end of the operation, these increases were considered minimal. The baseline endothelial adhesion molecule (E-selectin) level was several times higher than the normal value, but after reperfusion of the new transplanted liver, the plasma E-selectin concentrations decreased to within the normal range and remained almost normal during the postoperative period. Similar changes were observed in the plasma levels of other types of adhesion molecules. Although PaO(2)/FIO(2) showed a significant inversed correlation with the peak IL-8 concentration, after the exclusion of two patients, one of whom died and one of whom rejected the transplanted liver, no correlation was able to be found between the PaO(2)/FIO(2) ratio and the maximum IL-8 concentration. Furthermore, there was no correlation between the adhesion moleclues and PaO(2)/FIO(2). These results suggest that IL-8 exerts only a slight effect on respiratory function following successful pediatric liver transplantation, and that circulating adhesion molecules do not affect perioperative lung function.