Noninvasive Assessment of Portal Hypertension Using Spectral Computed Tomography

Background: Early diagnosis of portal hypertension is imperative for timely treatment to reduce the mortality rate. However, there is still no adequate method to noninvasively and accurately assess the portal hypertension in routine clinical practice. Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of parameters measured using dual energy spectral computed tomography (LightSpeed CT750 HD) in assessing portal venous pressure in patients with liver cirrhosis. Study: Forty-five patients with liver cirrhosis who underwent percutaneous transhepatic portal vein puncture as part of their treatment for liver disease were enrolled in this study. Measurement of direct portal venous pressure was performed preoperatively. All patients underwent dual energy spectral computed tomography within 3 days before their operations. Results: The iodine concentrations of portal vein and hepatic parenchyma during the portal venous phase and the alanine aminotransferase level were found to be independently correlated with the direct portal venous pressure according to stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis (P
Source: Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology - Category: Gastroenterology Tags: ONLINE ARTICLES: Original Articles Source Type: research