HEMODYNAMIC COMPARISON BETWEEN IDIOPATHIC PORTAL HYPERTENSION AND LIVER CIRRHOSIS WITH SPLENOMEGALY

Abstract

We compared the abdominal hemodynamic state in idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH) with that in liver cirrhosis with splenomegaly (LCS). Eleven IPH and 15 LCS cases were studied. The proper hepatic, right hepatic, left hepatic and superior mesenteric arteries were wider in LCS than IPH patients. There was no difference, however, in the width of the splenic srtery. Using an ultrasonic duplex system, we found a tendency for the superior mesenteric venous blood flow volume to be greater in LCS than in IPH. No other differences in blood flow parameters could be detected, and there was no difference in the oxygen pressure of the portal vessels in each of the diseases. However, the difference between portal and wedged hepatic venous pressures was found to be greater in IPH than in LCS.
There was a statistically significant difference between the arterial hemodynamics in IPH and LCS, and in the site of vascular resistance within the liver, but not in portal hemodynamics.