Blood flow dynamics of the portal venous system in liver diseases studied by the ultrasonic pulsed doppler method

Blood flow dynamics of the portal venous system in various liver diseases was studied by the pulsed doppler method. Nineteen healthy subjects served as normal controls and 76 patients with the following various liver diseases: convalescent stage of acute hepatitis (AH), chronic hepatitis (CH), liver cirrhosis (LC), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were studied. Maximum blood flow velocity in prebranching point of the main portal vein was significantly lower in LC and HCC than that of healthy controls, and showed a positive correlation with the KICG value. Blood flow volume in prebranching point of the main portal vein in CH and LC appeared significantly lower when compared with that of healthy controls. The ratio of flow volume, superior mesenteric vein/splenic vein and right/left branch of portal vein were significantly decreased in decreasing order of AH>CH>LC. The decrease volume through postjoining to prebraching point of the main portal vein was 25-30% in LC and HCC. Unusual instances of hepatofugal blood flow were observed in 1 case of LC and 5 cases of HCC. These findings illustrate the usefullness of the doppler method in studying liver disease states.