Intraoperative metabolic changes associated with cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND

Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) causes considerable hemodynamic, respiratory, and metabolic changes during the perioperative period.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate metabolic changes associated with this procedure. Understanding perioperative factors and their association with morbidity may improve the perioperative management of patients undergoing this treatment.

METHODS

A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database was performed. All consecutive unselected patients who underwent CRS plus HIPEC between January 2018 and December 2020 (n = 219) were included.

RESULTS

The mean age was 58 ± 11.7 years and 167 (76.3%) were female. The most frequent histology diagnosis was serous ovarian carcinoma 49.3% (n = 108) and colon carcinoma 36.1% (n = 79). Mean peritoneal cancer index was 14.07 ± 10.47. There were significant variations in pH, lactic acid, sodium, potassium, glycemia, bicarbonate, excess bases, and temperature (p < 0.05) between the pre-HIPEC and post-HIPEC periods. The closed HIPEC technique resulted in higher levels of temperature than the open technique (p < 0.05). Age, potassium level post-HIPEC potassium level, and pre-HIPEC glycemia were identified as prognostic factors for morbidity in multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSION

The administration of HIPEC after CRS causes significant changes in internal homeostasis. Although the closed technique causes a greater increase in temperature, it is not related to higher morbidity rates. The patient's age, post-HIPEC potassium level, and pre-HIPEC glycemia are predictive factors for morbidity.