Extravascular Lung Water and Pulmonary Vascular Permeability Index Measured at the End of Surgery Are Independent Predictors of Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation in Patients Undergoing Liver Transplantation.

Background: Pulmonary edema (PE) after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) may compromise the postoperative course and prolong the duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) and intensive care unit length of stay. Hemodynamic monitoring with transpulmonary thermodilution permits quantification of extravascular lung water index (ELWI) and calculation of the pulmonary vascular permeability index (PVPI), which is the ratio between the ELWI and the pulmonary blood volume. This ratio can discriminate between PE hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic PE.