THE RELATIONSHIP OF ENDOSCOPY, PORTAL DOPPLER ULTRASOUND FLOWMETRY, AND CLINICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL TESTS IN CIRRHOSIS

The relationship of the endoscopic aspect of esophageal varices, porta l quantitative Doppler ultrasound parameters and clinical and biochemi cal findings was assessed in 149 patients with cirrhosis stratified ac cording to the presence of esophageal varices (n=115) and the absence of previous bleeding (n=96). In this series of patients the presence o f esophageal varices and red signs proved to be significantly correlat ed with the severity of cirrhosis. However, in the group of patients w ith varices, no correlation was found between variceal size and the de gree of liver failure. Portal blood flow velocity was significantly di fferent in the endoscopic subgroups, but not in the clinical and bioch emical subgroups. Furthermore, portal blood flow velocity was found to correlate only with the presence and size of esophageal varices. The Congestion Index of the portal vein (derived from the ratio between th e cross-sectional area of the portal vein and the mean velocity of por tal flow) was significantly different in most clinical, biochemical an d endoscopic subgroups and was correlated with liver function, presenc e and size of varices, and presence and degree of red signs. We conclu de that the Congestion Index of the portal vein, the clinical status a nd the endoscopic aspect of varices are not independent features in pa tients with cirrhosis. As for liver function and endoscopic findings, portal Doppler ultrasound parameters, in particular the Congestion Ind ex, may contribute to a better clinical assessment in patients with ci rrhosis. (C) Journal of Hepatology.