MORPHOLOGICAL AND FUNCTIONAL-CHANGES OF T HE KIDNEY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH PORTAL-HYPERTENSION

In 17 patients (mean age: 18.2 years) with portal hypertension, of who m 12 had to undergo a portosystemic shunt and 5 a palliative operation in their childhood, the renal morphology (duplex-sonography) and the renal function (isotope clearance, scintigraphy) were examined. Result s: 1. The main diameter (n = 9), the echogenicy and the venous congest ion (n = 11) of the kidneys were increased. 2. The function of the kid neys was changed in 9 patients. The essential pathological finding was an increased effective renal flow of plasma (n = 7) which led to a de creased filtration fraction (n = 9). 3. The increased venous congestio n and the increased echogenicy of the kidneys were in accordance with the reduced filtration fraction. 4. The function of the left kidney wa s decreased on average by 10% (p < 0.01) in comparison to the right ki dney. Conclusion: The data introduced here indicate that in patients w ith portal hypertension and portosystemic shunt or palliative operatio n morphological and functional changes of the kidneys, which may be ac companied by clinical symptoms, can be observed.