Doppler Assessment of Hepatic Veins in Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

The goal of this study was to document the progressive effects of fatty infiltration of the liver on hepatic veins (HVs) by measuring Doppler waveforms in rats and dogs. It was used in two groups of animals: a) rats (10 healthy adult rats as controls, and a group of 10 rats had fatty infiltration of the liver) and b) dogs (a clinical group of 15 obese dogs and a control group of 10 healthy dogs). All of the groups underwent hepatic B-mode, duplex Doppler sonography and hepatic biopsy or cytology. B-mode fatty infiltration was classified into four degrees corresponding to increasing degrees of hepatic echogenicity for all groups: (0) absent, (1) mild, (2) moderate, and (3) severe fatty infiltration. The Doppler sonography spectra of HVs were classified into three groups: normal or triphasic waveforms, biphasic waveforms, and monophasic or flat waveforms. Obese dogs and rats with fatty infiltration of the liver presented abnormal right HV Doppler waveforms. There was a statistically significant difference in the waveforms of HV flow between the obese and control group of dogs. These findings are clinically relevant because changes in waveforms could be used as a tool to monitor fatty liver disease.