To investigate the correlation between postoperative function of liver allografts from donation after cardiac death (DCD) and hepatic perfusion parameters by CT perfusion imaging.

CT perfusion imaging was performed in eight male cases on day 7 postoperatively after liver transplantation from DCD donors, including six patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and two patients with cirrhosis after chronic hepatitis B. The CT perfusion imaging parameters, including AF (arterial flow), PF (portal flow), PI (perfusion index), APT (arterial peek time), PPT (portal peek time), were calculated for correlation analysis with serological liver function tests on postoperative day 1, day 7, day 14, day 30 and day 60, respectively.

AF, APT and PPT was correlated with ALT or AST the first month after surgery. AF was positively related with ALT (r=0.842, P<0.01), while AST was negatively correlated with (APT) (r= 0.713, P<0.05) and PPT (r= 0.756, P<0.05) in post-transplantation. PF was positively related with AST (r=0.728, P<0.05) 60 days after the transplantation.

The parameters of CT perfusion imaging are significantly correlated with postoperative liver function tests,suggesting CT perfusion imaging can be a useful and objective test for evaluating the quality of liver allografts from DCD.