Publication:

Impact of timing of elective abdominal surgery on postoperative liver function

Background The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of timing of surgery on liver function in a cohort of patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery.

Methods We retrospectively analysed 14584 patients who underwent elective abdominal surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, from January to June, 2014. The patients were divided into three groups according to the start time of their surgery: CT1 (06:00 to 12:00), CT2 (12:01 to 18:00), and CT3 (18:01 to 05:59). The liver function of all subjects was assessed at 24 h post-surgery, using biomarkers.

Results The blood glucose level at 24 h post-surgery was significantly increased in CT3 group. Notably, the total and indirect bilirubin and alkaline phosphate (ALP) were all increased in CT3 group control to the other groups (one-way ANOVA, P < 0.05).

Conclusions We observed that the Child-Pugh score did not differ significantly among the three study groups. However, total and indirect bilirubin, glucose and ALP levels were significantly higher in subjects who underwent surgery between 18:01 and 05:59 hours of the day, implying that biomarkers of liver function varied with the time of surgery.