Energy metabolism and tissue blood flow as parameters for the assessment of graft viability in rat small bowel transplantation.

The assessment of small bowel graft viability by means of energy metabolism and tissue blood flow was investigated and compared with pathological findings. Syngeneic heterotopic small bowel transplantations were performed using male Lewis rats, which were divided into four groups according to the duration of cold preservation in University of Wisconsin (UW) solution; 6-, 12-, 24-, and 48-hour groups. The adenine nucleotide metabolism, the tissue blood flow, and the pathological profiles of the grafts were all compared among the groups. The adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels at the end of cold storage and at 30 minutes after reperfusion, as well as the total adenine nucleotide (TAN) levels at the end of cold storage, before reperfusion, and at 30 minutes after reperfusion were significantly lower in the 48-hour group than those in the other groups, and the blood flow level at reperfusion was significantly lower in the 48-hour group than that in the others. Histological damage after reperfusion extended deep into the crypt layer in the 48-hour group but was confined to within villi in the other groups. These results suggest that the tissue ATP, TAN, and the blood flow levels are considered useful parameters for the assessment of small bowel graft viability.