Postoperative low platelet counts correlate with delayed liver function recovery after partial hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective To investigate the correlation of postoperative platelet counts with liver function recovery after partial hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods 212 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were enrolled in this study.The relation between postoperative platelet counts and serum levels of ALT,AST,TB and PT after operation was analyzed.Results There were 78 patients with a low (＜ 100 × 109/L) immediate postoperative platelet count in this series of 212 patients who underwent partial liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma,and 134 patients with a normal platelet count (≥ 100 × 109/L).Based on the criteria,27 patients were categorized as having delayed postoperative liver function recovery.There was no perioperative mortality in this study.Postoperative peak levels of ALT,AST and TB were significantly higher in patients with low postoperative platelet counts than those with normal platelet counts (P ＜ 0.05).Statistical analysis showed that low postoperative platelet counts after partial liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma correlated with increased risk of delayed postoperative recovery (x2 =9.112,P =0.003).Conclusions Low postoperative platelet counts were associated with delayed liver function recovery after partial hepatectomy in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Key words: Carcinoma,hepatocellular;  Hepatectomy;  Platelet count