EFFECTS OF BATHING IN HOT-WATER ON PORTAL HEMODYNAMICS IN HEALTHY-SUBJECTS AND IN PATIENTS WITH COMPENSATED LIVER-CIRRHOSIS

Bathing in hot mater induces vasodilatation of the peripheral vessels and alteration of blood distribution. Using a Doppler flowmeter, we ev aluated the effect of bathing in hot water on portal hemodynamics. Eig ht controls and 8 patients with compensated liver cirrhosis remained i mmersed in hot water at 42 degrees C for 5 minutes. Portal flow signif icantly decreased from 811+/-141 (ml/min) at the baseline to 530+/-98 in the controls and from 855+/-308 to 642+/-208 in cirrhotics immediat ely after bathing. This decrease (25%) in cirrhotic was significantly less than that (35%) in controls because vessel diameter did not decre ase as rapidly as it did in controls, Portal how after 30 minutes retu rned to the baseline values in controls but remained low in cirrhotics , These findings suggest that cirrhotics have a lower hemodynamic resp onse to bathing in hot mater compared with that in controls.