Postischemic ATP levels predict hepatic function 24 hours following ischemia in the rat

Hepatic function was assessed by the aminopyrine breath test (ABT) in male Sprague Dawley rats 24 h after partial hepatic ischemia. ABT decreased progressively to 26.3 (p less than 0.05) and 19.7% of dose (p less than 0.05) after 90 and 120 min of ischemia, respectively. ABT at 24 h after injury was correlated to the concentration of ATP in the ischemic lobes 1 h after the onset of reperfusion (r2 = 0.971) but not to ALT activity in plasma at 1 h (r2 = 0.391). We conclude that postischemic ATP levels are a better index of subsequent hepatic function than ALT.