CONGESTIVE JEJUNOPATHY IN PORTAL-HYPERTENSION

Twenty six patients with portal hypertension of different aetiologies were studied for endoscopic evidence of congestive gastroduodenopathy and histological evidence of congestive gastropathy and jejunopathy. P er oral biopsies of jejunum were taken by Watson's capsule. Normal bio psy tissues obtained from the antrum (26), fundus (10), and jejunum (2 6) were used as controls. Endoscopy showed congestive changes in the f undus (17 cases), antrum (17), and duodenum (4). Duodenopathy correlat ed with changes in the antrum but not in the fundus. Histology showed an increase in the size and number of vessels in the jejunal villi (co ngestive jejunopathy') in 22 patients. These correlated with histologi cal evidence of gastropathy in the fundus but not in the antrum. The i ncidence of congestive jejunopathy did not correlate with the Child-Pu gh score in patients with cirrhosis or with the number of sclerotherap y sessions received. Congestive jejunopathy is part of the spectrum of congestive gastroenteropathy and occurs at least as frequently as cha nges in the stomach and duodenum. The clinical import of these jejunal changes remains to be explained.