<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Introduction: Portal hypertension results from increased resistance to the portal blood flow. The ultrasound represents a noninvasive tool for assessing the structural and hemodynamic abnormalities in this condition. Objectives: The assessment of the hemodynamic blood flow of the liver and spleen by using Doppler ultrasound in patients with portal hypertension compared with healthy subjects and to identify correlations with the severity of liver cirrhosis and esophageal varices. Materials and Method: This study included 50 patients with liver cirrhosis and 20 healthy subjects as controls. Different correlations were carried out between hemodynamic variables obtained from the Doppler examination and the severity of cirrhosis as assessed by the Child score and the degree of esophageal varices at endoscopy. Results: The portal vein diameter was larger in cirrhotic patients compared with the control group. The mean portal vein velocity and the blood flow were significantly lower in advanced forms of liver cirrhosis. The portal vein congestion index, the pulsatility and resistivity indexes of the hepatic artery were significantly increased in patients with CHILD B and C cirrhosis compared with the control group and patients in CHILD class A. There were no statistically significant differences between the pulsatility and resistivity indexes of the splenic artery in patients with cirrhosis. The liver vascular index was significantly lower in patients with advanced cirrhosis.Conclusions: The ultrasound is a valuable noninvasive tool for cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension. However, it is not sufficiently accurate in differentiating between different classes of cirrhosis or degrees of esophageal varices. </abstract>

Introduction: Portal hypertension results from increased resistance to the portal blood flow. The ultrasound represents a noninvasive tool for assessing the structural and hemodynamic abnormalities in this condition. Objectives: The assessment of the hemodynamic blood flow of the liver and spleen by using Doppler ultrasound in patients with portal hypertension compared with healthy subjects and to identify correlations with the severity of liver cirrhosis and esophageal varices. Materials and Method: This study included 50 patients with liver cirrhosis and 20 healthy subjects as controls. Different correlations were carried out between hemodynamic variables obtained from the Doppler examination and the severity of cirrhosis as assessed by the Child score and the degree of esophageal varices at endoscopy. Results: The portal vein diameter was larger in cirrhotic patients compared with the control group. The mean portal vein velocity and the blood flow were significantly lower in advanced forms of liver cirrhosis. The portal vein congestion index, the pulsatility and resistivity indexes of the hepatic artery were significantly increased in patients with CHILD B and C cirrhosis compared with the control group and patients in CHILD class A. There were no statistically significant differences between the pulsatility and resistivity indexes of the splenic artery in patients with cirrhosis. The liver vascular index was significantly lower in patients with advanced cirrhosis.Conclusions: The ultrasound is a valuable noninvasive tool for cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension. However, it is not sufficiently accurate in differentiating between different classes of cirrhosis or degrees of esophageal varices.

The role of ultrasonography in the evaluation of portal hemodynamics in healthy adults and pathologic conditions

Faculty of Medicine, University “Ovidius” of Constanta

Clinical Emergency County Hospital „Sf Apostol Andrei“, Internal Medicine I, Department of Gastroenterology, 145 Tomis Boulevard, Constanta, Romania, phone: +40 744761454

ARS Medica Tomitana

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Introduction: Portal hypertension results from increased resistance to the portal blood flow. The ultrasound represents a noninvasive tool for assessing the...

The role of ultrasonography in the evaluation of portal hemodynamics in healthy adults and pathologic conditions

Published Online: Aug 19, 2016

Page range: 128 - 134

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/arsm-2016-0022

Keywords
portal hypertension, portal vein (PV), hepatic artery (HA), splenic artery (SA), congestion index (CI), pulsatility index (PI), resistivity index (RI), PVV (portal vein velocity), liver vascular index (LVI)

© by E. Dumitru

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The role of ultrasonography in the evaluation of portal hemodynamics in healthy adults and pathologic conditions

Published Online: Aug 19, 2016

Page range: 128 - 134

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/arsm-2016-0022

Keywordsportal hypertension, portal vein (PV), hepatic artery (HA), splenic artery (SA), congestion index (CI), pulsatility index (PI), resistivity index (RI), PVV (portal vein velocity), liver vascular index (LVI)

© by E. Dumitru

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
portal hypertension, portal vein (PV), hepatic artery (HA), splenic artery (SA), congestion index (CI), pulsatility index (PI), resistivity index (RI), PVV (portal vein velocity), liver vascular index (LVI)