HEPATIC PERFUSION INDEX IN PORTAL-HYPERTENSION OF CIRRHOTIC AND NONCIRRHOTIC ETIOLOGIES

The hepatic perfusion index (HPI), the ratio of hepatic arterial to to tal Liver blood flow, was determined by radionuclide angiography in 28 subjects with normal livers and 62 patients with portal hypertension of various aetiologies. The latter group comprised 50 patients with ci rrhosis (14 Child class A, 20 Child class B, 16 Child class C) and 12 patients with non-cirrhotic portal hypertension (7 non-cirrhotic porta l fibrosis, 5 extrahepatic portal venous obstruction). The mean (+/- S .D.) HPI was significantly higher among the patients with cirrhosis (C hild class A, 53.9 +/- 18.1; Child class B, 65.6 +/- 29.4; Child class C, 78.6 +/- 33.5) and non-cirrhotic portal hypertension (54.9 +/- 17. 7) compared with the subjects with normal livers (35.6 +/- 10.5). The patients with non-cirrhotic portal hypertension had a mean value simil ar to that of the cirrhotic patients in Child class A. A higher HPI wa s associated with worsening liver status. We conclude, therefore, that the HPI will be high in portal hypertension irrespective of aetiology and a rise in the HPI may indicate a deterioration in the condition o f the liver.