REFRACTORY ASCITES DUE TO PORTAL-VEIN THROMBOSIS IN LIVER-CIRRHOSIS -REPORT OF 2 CASES

Portal vein thrombosis as a complication of liver cirrhosis has been r eported to be extremely rare in Japan, as compared with European count ries. There are few reports discussing the correlation of portal vein thrombosis with refractory ascites. Between January 1994 and December 1995, 20 cases (91%) of 22 patients with liver cirrhosis with ascites admitted to our hospital responded well within 2 months to a combinati on therapy of diuretics and albumin infusion, and the other two cases (9%) with refractory ascites were associated with portal vein thrombos is. The ascites in the first patient continued for 1 year, despite diu retics and albumin infusion therapy, and portal vein thrombosis was co nfirmed by autopsy. The ascites in the other patient continued for mor e than 4 months, and portal vein thrombosis was detected by ultrasound . Portal vein thrombosis was not found in the other 20 cirrhotic patie nts with ascites. These two cases suggest that portal vein thrombosis may be a contributing factor to refractory ascites in patients with de compensated liver cirrhosis.