Pulmonary blood volume and transit time in cirrhosis: relation to lung function

: Background/Aims: In cirrhosis a systemic vasodilatation leads to an abnormal distribution of the blood volume with a contracted central blood volume. In addition, the patients have a ventilation/perfusion imbalance with a low diffusing capacity. As the size of the pulmonary blood volume (PBV) has not been determined separately we assessed PBV and pulmonary transit time (PTT) in relation to lung function in patients with cirrhosis and in controls. Methods: Pulmonary and cardiac haemodynamics and transit times were determined by radionuclide techniques in 22 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and in 12 controls. The lung function including diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DL, CO) was determined by conventional single breath technique. Results: In the patients, PTT was shorter, 3.9±1.2 vs 5.7±1.0 s in the controls, P