Metabolic abnormalities associated with postoperative organ failure. A redox theory.

We studied metabolic abnormalities of postoperative organ failure in 55 patients and classified them into four groups according to the postoperative changes in the arterial blood-ketone body ratio (acetoacetic acid-beta-hydroxybutyric acid) reflecting hepatic mitochondrial redox potential: patients in group A had no decrease below 0.7, patients in group B had a transient decrease to 0.4, patients in group C had a progressive decrease to below 0.4, and patients in group D (terminal stage) had a decrease to below 0.25. All group A and B patients tolerated their operations well; the group C and D patients had multiple organ failure. In groups B, C, and D, plasma concentrations of alanine, proline, phenylalanine, and tyrosine were negatively correlated with the blood--ketone body ratio and the molar ratios between the plasma concentrations of branched-chain amino acids and aromatic amino acids were positively correlated with the blood--ketone body ratio. Hepatic energy deficit associated with decreasing blood-ketone body ratio may be the metabolic basis of postoperative organ failure.