Ultrasonographic follow-up of liver cirrhosis

✍ Scribed by Marco Zoli; Maria Rita Cordiani; Giulio Marchesini; Simonetta Abbati; Giampaolo Bianchi; Emilio Pisi

• Book ID: 102888963
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 520 KB
• Volume: 18
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0091-2751
• DOI: 10.1002/jcu.1870180205

✦ Synopsis

Ultrasonography and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were prospectively used to study 100 consecutive patients with liver cirrhosis. After a period of 20 months to 55 months, 21 patients had died, 23 were lost at follow-up, and 56 patients were reevaluated. In the patients who died during follow-up, the entry liver volume, measured by means of the hepatic volumetric index, was lower as compared to the 56 cirrhotics who survived. During the study period, liver volume significantly decreased to values similar to those observed, at entry, in patients who died. Moreover, esophageal varices increased in size, and the splanchnic veins enlarged. Abdominal ultrasonography provides data regarding the natural history of liver cirrhosis, which might be used, in addition to tests of liver function and endoscopy, as prognostic factors in cirrhotic patients. Indexing Words: Cirrhosis -Liver volume * Splanchnic veins * Ultrasonography JOURNAL OF CL!NICAL ULTRASOUND