Effects of peritoneovenous shunting: Out of the mouths of babes

✍ Scribed by Ronald L. Koretz; EDITOR Harold O. Conn

• Book ID: 102236224
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 270 KB
• Volume: 7
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0270-9139
• DOI: 10.1002/hep.1840070428

✦ Synopsis

The effect of peritoneovenous shunting on body composition has been studied in 7 cirrhotic patients undergoing a successful shunt and 3 patients in whom the shunt was unsuccessful. In the 7 patients with functioning shunts, their weight had decreased by a mean of 9 kg (p < 0.001) by 6 wk after initial diuresis, natriuresis, and kaliuresis, and was associated with a decrease in total body potassium (TBK) but not total body nitrogen (TBN). This resulted in a significant decrease in the TBK/TBN ratio from 2.12 f 0.74 to 1.66 f 0.20 (p < 0.01). By a mean of 14 mo, in these 7 patients there was a significant increase in mean TBN (from 1.54 2 0.10 to 1.84 f 0.10, p c 0.005) associated with an improvement in the mean nitrogen index (from 0.74 f 0.04 to 0.88 f 0.04, p