Portal vein pulsatility and Spectral width changes in patients with portal hypertension and correlation with severity of liver disease

Abstract

Background: The use of Doppler ultrasonography has been employed in the evaluation of several hemodynamic parameters of the portal vein, such as flow direction, velocity, and volume, in individuals suffering from portal hypertension. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of comprehensive research on the flow waveform and its pulsatility in these particular circumstances. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive description of the pulsatility pattern and Spectral width index in individuals diagnosed with portal hypertension. Additionally, this research aims to assess the correlation between the pulsatility pattern and Spectral width index with the severity of liver disease, as determined by the Child-Pugh classification. Methods: For the purpose of study, 60 cases of clinically diagnosed Chronic Liver Disease patients and Doppler examination of portal waveform was done.
Results: The normal value for PI in healthy adult’s ranges from 0.200 to 0.557. In CLD patients the PI ranges from 0.140 to 0.483 with a mean of 0.28 + 0.09 SD. In Child Pugh Class A the PI was 0.36 + 0.06 SD, in Class B 0.29 + 0.07SD and in Class C 0.20 + 0.04 SD. In this study, the SWI in patients with CLD ranged from 0.608 to 1.00 with mean of 0.87 + 0.10 SD. The SWI in Child Pugh Class A was 0.82
+ 0.09 SD, in Class B 0.83 + 0.14 SD and in Class C 0.92 U + 0.07 SD. There is a statistically significant relation found between portal vein pulsatility pattern and Spectral width index in patients with portal hypertension in relation to severity of liver disease.
Conclusion: With increasing severity of the liver disease as graded by Child Pugh class scoring, the pulsatility of portal vein blood flow decreases and Spectral width index increases with increasing severity of liver disease.