Inhalation of hydrogen gas reduces liver injury during major hepatotectomy in swine
Xiang L, Tan JW, Huang LJ, Jia L, Liu YQ, Zhao YQ, Wang K, Dong JH. · World Journal of Gastroenterology. 2012;18(37):5197–5204.
Study at a glance
Preclinical
Fourteen male Bama miniature pigs weighing 15–20 kg after 70% hepatectomy and 20 minutes of hepatic-pedicle occlusion.
Intraoperative inhalation through the tracheal cannula beginning after intubation, during major hepatectomy. · The article reports 2% H₂ and 98% O₂ but does not report total gas flow; therefore H₂ and O₂ flows in mL/min cannot be calculated.
Exposure began after tracheal cannulation and was described as intraoperative; the exact stop time is not stated. Outcomes were sampled through three hours after hepatectomy.
The H₂ group had lower ALT, AST, MDA, hyaluronic acid, inflammatory cytokines, apoptosis and structural injury. Portal-vein pressure did not differ significantly between groups, and the early PCNA proliferation index was also not significantly different.
Only seven pigs per group, unclear randomization and blinding, oxygen-rich rather than air carrier, imprecisely reported exposure duration, no total gas flow, multiple short-term surrogate endpoints, simple between-group tests and only three hours of follow-up. No funding or conflict statement was identified in the full text, so absence is not inferred.
What kind of evidence is this?
Preclinical
Two-group controlled major-hepatectomy experiment in miniature pigs
Liver health
Inhaled H₂
Information not yet classified
Some editorial classification fields are still pending. The source-reported outcomes and result are shown below; Hydrogenology does not infer a positive or negative signal from prose automatically.
Methods
Fourteen male Bama miniature pigs weighing 15–20 kg after 70% hepatectomy and 20 minutes of hepatic-pedicle occlusion.
14 pigs: H₂ group n=7 and oxygen-only comparator n=7.
Exposure began after tracheal cannulation and was described as intraoperative; the exact stop time is not stated. Outcomes were sampled through three hours after hepatectomy.
Intraoperative inhalation through the tracheal cannula beginning after intubation, during major hepatectomy.
2% H₂ with 98% O₂ — not Brown's gas because the H₂:O₂ proportions were not 2:1.
The article reports 2% H₂ and 98% O₂ but does not report total gas flow; therefore H₂ and O₂ flows in mL/min cannot be calculated.
Not reported — total mixture flow is absent.
98% O₂; mL/min flow not reported because total mixture flow is absent.
70% hepatectomy with oxygen through the tracheal tube and no H₂.
Outcomes and reported result
Portal-vein pressure, ALT, AST, hepatic malondialdehyde, serum hyaluronic acid, TNF-α, IL-6, histology, electron microscopy, CD31, TUNEL apoptosis and PCNA proliferation.
The H₂ group had lower ALT, AST, MDA, hyaluronic acid, inflammatory cytokines, apoptosis and structural injury. Portal-vein pressure did not differ significantly between groups, and the early PCNA proliferation index was also not significantly different.
The complete free PMC article was checked for allocation, gas composition, missing flow, exposure timing, biochemical and structural outcomes, null portal-pressure and regeneration findings, and available disclosures.
A reported association, difference or mechanism is not automatically a clinical benefit.
Limitations and applicability
Only seven pigs per group, unclear randomization and blinding, oxygen-rich rather than air carrier, imprecisely reported exposure duration, no total gas flow, multiple short-term surrogate endpoints, simple between-group tests and only three hours of follow-up. No funding or conflict statement was identified in the full text, so absence is not inferred.
Experimental major hepatectomy in healthy miniature pigs; it does not establish perioperative benefit in people undergoing liver surgery.
No single-study GRADE certainty rating is assigned. Read how records and evidence assessments are prepared.
Sources and record status
PMID: 23066313 · DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i37.5197
Free full article in PubMed Central.
Complete PMC article and PubMed metadata; full-text extraction checked 9 August 2026.
10 August 2026
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