View source for Publication: L-Carnitine Improves Postoperative Liver Function in Hepatectomized Patients

{{Publication
|Title=L-Carnitine Improves Postoperative Liver Function in Hepatectomized Patients
|Topic=Carnitine
|Author=Okabayashi T; Sui K; Mastumoto T; Iwata J; Morita S; Iiyama T; Shimada Y
|Year=2020
|Journal=Journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition
|DOI=https://doi.org/10.1002/jpen.1720
|Authors Abstract=Background and aims: The effect of perioperative treatment with L-carnitine in hepatectomized patients is unclear. The objectiveof the current study is to evaluate the short-term outcomes after liver cancer surgery in patients treated with L-carnitine comparedwith nontreated patients. 

Methods: Patients with primary liver malignancies scheduled to undergo a hepatectomy were randomlyassigned to receive either perioperative treatment with L-carnitine (carnitine group) or usual intake (control group). The primaryendpoint of this study was the short-term outcome after liver surgery. 

Results: The study participants were randomly assigned into2 groups: 106 patients in the control group and 102 patients in the perioperative L-carnitine supplementation group. The restorationof serum ammonia levels, prothrombin time, and peripheral neutrophil count at 3 days after the operation was significantly fasterin the carnitine group than in the control group. Fewer patients in the carnitine group developed grade B posthepatic liver failure,according to the grading system of the International Study Group of Liver Surgery, than patients in the control group (20% vs76%). The length of hospitalization was significantly shorter in patients in the carnitine group than in those in the control group.

Conclusions: We found that perioperative treatment with L-carnitine was significantly better than ordinary treatment in reducingpostoperative serum ammonia levels, suggesting that L-carnitine may serve as a pivotal regulator of liver injury and repair andresult in shorter postoperative hospitalization
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