Systemic hemodynamic and cardiac function changes in patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation. The objective of this study was to determine the changes in systemic hemodynamics (systemic vascular resistance [SVR], cardiac output [CO], systemic blood pressure [SBP]) and cardiac function (pulmonary artery pressure [PAP] and pulmonary wedge pressure [PWP]) during the 96 hours following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) and correlate these with changes in hepatic and renal function and patient outcome. The study took place in a 12-bed medical respiratory intensive care unit in a large teaching hospital. Twenty-one patients had OLT performed over a 21.5-month period (January 1988 to October 15, 1989) for end stage liver disease (ESLD) from a variety of causes. A flow-directed right heart catheter and an indwelling arterial cannula were inserted for hemodynamic monitoring over a 96-hour postoperative period. Liver and renal function studies, total serum calcium, serum albumin, and fluid balance were determined daily. The SVR increased significantly to 12.8 +/- 0.6 U at 48 hours compared with immediate (less than 8 hours) postoperative levels (p less than 0.05) and remained elevated for 96 hours. The CO fell progressively and was significantly lower than baseline values from 64 to 96 hours. There was significant inverse correlation between the increase in SVR and the fall in CO (r = .85, p less than 0.01). The SBP was stable except for a small, but significant fall at 16 and 24 hours postoperatively. The PWP increased significantly from a baseline value of 12.5 +/- 0.9 mm Hg to 15 +/- 0.9 mm Hg at 32 hours and remained elevated through 96 hours (p less than 0.05). The serum bilirubin level fell progressively postoperatively and the prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) shortened significantly. Bile flow increased progressively from 107 +/- 120 ml/24 hours at the end of the first 24 hours to 188 +/- 125 ml/24 hours by 96 hours postoperatively. Five patients died from nine to 43 days postoperatively. These patients' hemodynamic parameters were not significantly different from the patients who survived. Successful OLT is associated with a rapid increase in SVR and a fall in CO without changes in SBP. These findings tend to parallel the improvement found in results of liver function tests. However, there is no correlation between the improvement in the hemodynamic state and long-term survival. 