A sonographic Doppler study of the hepatic vein, portal vein and hepatic artery in liver cirrhosis: Correlation of hepatic hemodynamics with clinical Child Pugh score in Singapore

Abstract

Objective Liver cirrhosis has been a rising complication of chronic liver disease in Singapore. Ultrasound has been widely accepted as a non-invasive imaging modality for the evaluation of hepatic haemodynamics. This study aims to correlate the Doppler ultrasound values with the progression of liver cirrhosis to allow further understanding and possible prediction of clinical events for timely intervention. Methods Study sample of 56 eligible patients with liver cirrhosis was divided according to their Child-Pugh clinical score into Child’s A (n = 29 patients), B (n = 19 patients) and C (n = 8 patients). The maximum portal vein velocity, maximum hepatic vein velocity, maximum hepatic artery velocity and hepatic artery resistive index were assessed by Doppler ultrasound. Results The incidence of ascites increases with the severity of cirrhosis. Flattening of the hepatic vein waveforms was dependant on degree of liver cirrhosis. Maximum hepatic vein velocity was higher in cirrhotic patients (where p = 0.05). Maximum portal vein velocity was found to be lower in cirrhosis (where p < 0.001) and mean maximum portal vein velocity decreases as severity of cirrhosis worsens. Hepatic artery resistive index was significantly higher in cirrhosis (where p < 0.001). Significant association was found between maximum hepatic vein velocity and maximum hepatic artery velocity and significant negative correlation was observed with the maximum portal vein velocity and hepatic artery resistive index. Conclusion The study demonstrated that these parameters can supplement the evaluation of liver cirrhosis and will be able to distinguish the different grades of liver cirrhosis using Doppler ultrasound.