Portal hypertension in chronic hepatitis--comparative manometric and clinico-chemical examinations.

Portal hypertension (PH) which, for patients suffering from chronic liver disease, usually determines their subsequent fate, considerably exceeds the upper limit already in chronic hepatitis. With the aid of laparoscopic transhepatic manometry (LTM) in the branches of the portal and hepatic veins we measured portal vein pressures of 17.7 and hepatic vein pressures of 12.3 mm Hg in patients with chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH). In patients with chronic aggressive hepatitis (CAH) with still only moderate fibrosis, the pressure was 18.8 (in the portal vein) and 11.0 mm Hg (in the hepatic vein) while in CAH with marked remodeling, the average pressures were 19.9 and 11.8 mm Hg respectively. The early elevation of the PH, also in CPH, is an important indication for a thorough diagnostic work-up and "aggressive" therapy of the CH.