HTK (branded as Custodiol® by Essential Pharmaceuticals LLC), has been presented by industry to surgeons as an alternative solution that exceeds other cardioplegias in myocardial protection during cardiac surgery.
[4] Finally, histidine is thought to aid buffering, mannitol and tryptophan to improve membrane stability, and ketoglutarate to help ATP production during reperfusion.
The only practical advantage of HTK, therefore, is the single-dose administration compared to multi-dose requirements of blood and other crystalloid cardioplegia.
Custodiol HTK Solution Common/Classification Name: Isolated Kidney Perfusion and Transport System and Accessories, 21 CFR 876.5880; Franz Kohler.
Pokorny H., et al.: Histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate solution for organ preservation in human liver transplantation — a prospective multi-centre observation study.
5. de Boer J., et al.: Eurotransplant randomized multicenter kidney graft preservation study comparing HTK with UW and Euro-Collins.
Hatano E., et al.: Hepatic preservation with histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate solution in living related and cadaveric liver transplantation.