Evaluation of Glucose Metabolism After Distal Pancreatectomy According to the Donor Criteria of the Living Donor Pancreas Transplantation Guidelines Proposed by the Japanese Pancreas and Islet Transplantation Association

BackgroundLiving donor pancreas transplantation (LDPT) reduces the number of deaths of diabetic patients on dialysis and of candidates on the waiting lists and helps to overcome the organ shortage. Stringent criteria must be applied to minimize the risk of metabolic complications for living donors. The Japanese Pancreas and Islet Transplantation Association (JPITA) proposed LDPT guidelines in 2010. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated glucose metabolism of the patients who underwent distal pancreatectomy (DP) according to the donor criteria of the LDPT guidelines proposed by the JPITA.MethodsFifty-two nondiabetic patients who underwent DP were divided into 2 groups according to the donor criteria: indication group (IG, n = 14) who had age ≤ 65, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) < 5.9%, and body mass index (BMI) < 25 kg/m2. The other patients were placed in the no indication group (NG, n = 38). Clinical data and percent resected volume (PRV) of each pancreas as determined by multi–detector row computed tomography volumetry were compared between the 2 groups.ResultsDuring the follow-up period (median 12 months), 14 patients (27%) developed new-onset diabetes within a median onset time of 10 months (range 3–24 months) postoperatively. No patient in the IG developed new-onset diabetes. On the other hand, 37% of the patients in the NG developed new-onset diabetes. There were significant between-group differences in changes in preoperative serum fasting glucose and HbA1c levels, whereas there were no significant between-group differences in preoperative serum albumin or body weight. Multivariate analysis identified preoperative HbA1c (odds ratio 51.6, P = .002) and PRV (odds ratio 2.07, P = .033) as independent risk factors for new-onset diabetes.ConclusionLiving donor criteria in the LDPT guidelines proposed by the JPITA are appropriate for prevention of glucose metabolic complications in donors. Further long-term follow-up studies of living donors' metabolic function are needed to clarify the safety of the donor.