Portal blood flow in the presence or absence of diffuse liver disease: measurement by phase contrast MR imaging.

BACKGROUND

In patients with diffuse liver disease, the portal flow dynamics change markedly in accordance with disease progression and would provide a useful index of progression of stage.

METHODS

Portal blood flow (PBF) was measured by phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 21 patients with diffuse liver disease and 20 healthy volunteers. The MRI method was validated by a flow phantom study. The mean PBF could be measured in 6.8 min without breath-holding.

RESULTS

Doppler ultrasound measurements of PBF volume were obtained reproducibly in all the healthy volunteers and were shown to correlate with the MRI values (Doppler: 12.5 +/- 3.2 cm3/s, MRI: 12.0 +/- 3.3 cm3/s; mean +/- SD). The PBF volume of patients with chronic hepatitis showed no significant difference from that of the healthy volunteers. In patients with liver cirrhosis, the PBF volume ranged from 5.01 to 32.3 cm3/s. A significant increase in PBF volume was caused in one patient by massive intrahepatic shunting and a significant decrease was caused in two patients by massive extrahepatic shunting.

CONCLUSIONS

The measurement of PBF by phase contrast MRI is clinically useful in predicting intrahepatic or extrahepatic shunting in patients with liver cirrhosis, and may be of value in detecting the progression of stage in diffuse liver diseases.