title: Hepatic venous pressure gradient does not correlate with the presence and the severity of portal hypertensive gastropathy in patients with liver cirrhosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether the hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) differs between cirrhotic patients with severe portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) and those with mild or absent PHG.
  
  
  METHODS
  59 cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension underwent hepatic vein catheterisation. 44 patients (76%) had PHG (16 mild and 28 severe).
  
  
  METHODS
  tertiary care setting (Liver Unit, Internal Medicine).
  
  
  RESULTS
  HVPG values did not differ between the patients without PHG (21.6 +/- 10.1 mmHg) and those with PHG (18.6 +/- 9.1 mmHg), nor between those with mild (19.3 +/- 4.3 mmHg) or severe PHG (17.7 +/- 4.6 mmHg; p = 0.26). The overall prevalence of PHG and the proportion of patients with severe PHG did not differ regarding the Child Pugh classification. The etiology of the cirrhosis did not influence the HVPG. No correlations were found between HVPG values and Child Pugh score, age, platelet count, prothrombin time, bilirubin levels and ALT values. The HVPG did not differ between patients with small, medium or large esophageal varices, nor between subjects with or without gastric varices.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data show that PHG does not correlate with the degree of portal pressure, and that the prevalence and the severity of this condition are not influenced by the severity of underlying liver disease or by the size of varices.
authors.affiliation: Haemodynamic Unit, Marino General Hospital, Via XXIV Maggio, 00047 Marino, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Lia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bellis
authors.forename: Sabino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nicodemo
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galossi
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guarisco
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spilabotti
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Durola
authors.forename: Orlando
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dell'Unto
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Puoti
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004932:Esophageal and Gastric Varices / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006503:Hepatic Veins / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006975:Hypertension, Portal / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017082:Portal Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D015995:Prevalence; D013272:Stomach Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D014690:Venous Pressure / Q000502:physiology