title: Two cases of hepatopulmonary syndrome with improved liver function following long-term oxygen therapy.
abstract: Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a complication of liver disease that is characterized by hypoxemia and intrapulmonary vascular dilatations. The only established therapy for this disorder is liver transplantation. Here, we report two patients (a 63-year-old woman and a 72-year-old man) with HPS associated with hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis. We gave the patients low-dose oxygen supplementation to improve their respiratory symptoms. Surprisingly, their liver function improved from Child Pugh class C to class A, and ascites disappeared after a year of oxygen supplementation. We believe that long-term oxygen therapy contributed to the improvement of liver function in these two cases. Long-term oxygen therapy might offer a new therapeutic approach to improve liver function in patients with cirrhosis with hypoxemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, National Hospital Organization Nagasaki Medical Center, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuko Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Fukushima
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yatsuhashi
authors.forename: Akitoshi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
authors.forename: Toshihito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueki
authors.forename: Takehiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Mitsuhiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Osumi
authors.forename: Yohjiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D020065:Hepatopulmonary Syndrome / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy; D013997:Time Factors