Application of the spleen ultrasound for the diagnosis of portal hypertension in liver cirrhosis

Written by Sârbu-Pop Silvia, Török Imola, Băţaga Simona, Macarie Melania, Pop Maria Madgalena

The aim of our study was to analyze the value of the spleen ultrasound for the diagnosis of portal hypertension. Methods: The study comprised 112 patients diagnosed with cirrhosis who had different degrees of esophageal varices. We evaluated the spleen size, the mean portal vein velocity and the splenix index. Results: All patients presented elevated splenic index (mean index: 100.51 cm2) and low portal velocity (mean speed: 9.44 cm/sec). We found a negative correlation between a portal velocity and the splenic index (r=-0.35). Our data suggest that the increase of the splenic index is significantly associated with the degree of esophageal varices (p=0.0001) and with the severity of the portal hypertension (p=0.0001). Conclusion: In patients with cirrhosis the splenic index is correlated with the severity of the portal hypertension respectively with the degree of esophageal varices. The splenic index may be a useful tool for diagnosing large esophageal varices in liver cirrhosis.

 

Keywords: spleen ultrasound, portal hypertension, liver cirrhosis


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