PLASMA-CONCENTRATION OF ENDOTHELIN-1 DOES NOT REFLECT RENAL VASOCONSTRICTION AS ESTIMATED BY DUPLEX ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN CIRRHOSIS

Endothelin, a potent vasoconstrictor, is thought to play a role in liv er cirrhosis-related functional kidney failure, Our aim was to investi gate the correlation between renal vasoconstriction, as detected by a Doppler ultrasound technique, and plasma concentrations of endothelin in cirrhotic patients. Fifty cirrhotic patients underwent Doppler exam inations to detect renal vasoconstriction. The plasma concentration of endothelin was measured in 10 patients who exhibited vasoconstriction of the renal microvessels diagnosed by Doppler waveform analysis and was compared to that of patients in whom there was no sign of such vas oconstriction. No difference was observed in the plasma concentration of endothelin between patients in whom renal vasoconstriction was diag nosed and those in whom it was not, Our results suggested that the cir culating endothelin does not reflect renal vasoconstriction, at least in the early phase of the functional renal failure associated with cir rhosis of the liver.