Colonic wall thickening in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence of colonic wall thickening (CWT) and its relation with other clinical and radiological findings of portal hypertension.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Retrospective observational study. The follow-up period was at least 1 year. The colon wall was considered to be thickened when it measured > 6 mm.

SUBJECTS

The study included 63 patients, what were admitted in Liver Unit of University and General Hospital of Alicante with hepatic cirrhosis who had an abdominal CT scan performed between March 1996 and December 1998.

RESULTS

21 (33.3%) patients showed CWT. This finding was particularly associated with the presence of collateral circulation [ OR = 10.3(1.5-100.8)] and portal thrombosis [OR = 12.8(1.4-118.4)] p<0.05. Patients with CWT tended to develop spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (CWT 14.3% vs no CWT 4.8%) [RR = 3(0.5 -16.6)] but this did not reach statistical significance (p= 0.18).

CONCLUSIONS

A third of the patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension present colonic wall thickening. This finding is related to radiological features and clinical consequences of portal hypertension.