Diagnostic Value of Peripheral Blood miR-148a-3p in Patients with Liver Injury After Hepatectomy Under General Anesthesia with Propofol

Background The current study aims to evaluate the correlation between peripheral blood miR-148a-3p level in patients with liver injury after hepatectomy under general anesthesia with propofol, thereby evaluating whether circulating miR-148a-3p can be used as a biomarker of liver injury after hepatectomy. Methods One hundred one patients who underwent hepatectomy at the Fourth Hospital of Xi'an were selected. On the first day after operation, peripheral blood was taken to determine the level of miR-148a-3p in peripheral blood. The correlation between circulating miR-148a-3p and liver injury after operation was analyzed using Pearson's correlation assay. Results First, our data showed that the level of miR-148a-3p was increased in the peripheral blood of patients after hepatectomy. The amount of bleeding was significantly correlated with the increase of ALT, AST, and miR-148a-3p. Moreover, the level of miR-148a-3p was significantly correlated with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Further analysis showed that intraoperative propofol dosage was correlated with ALT, AST, and miR-148a-3p after hepatectomy. Conclusions MiR-148a-3p may be sensitive to ischemic and traumatic liver injury and may be a marker of liver injury after hepatectomy under general anesthesia with propofol.