Evaluation of Portal Hypertension: A Comparison of the Use of Liver Perfusion CT with Wedge Hepatic venous Pressure and Hepatic venous Pressure Gradient

Abstract

Purpose: We compared the hepatic perfusion indices obtained using hepatic perfusion CT with the wedge hepatic venous pressure (WHVP) and hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) to determine the efficacy of the use of liver perfusion CT for the evaluation of portal hypertension. Materials and Methods: Thirty-five patients with liver cirrhosis underwent hepatic vein catheterization to measure WHVP and HVPG and underwent a liver perfusion CT examination. Arterial perfusion, portal perfusion, total perfusion and the hepatic perfusion index (HPI) were calculated by the methods described by Miles and Blomley. The overall correlation coefficients (r) between the perfusion indices and WHVP and HVPG were calculated. An additional correlation coefficient of 23 alcoholic cirrhosis patients was calculated. Results: Using Blomley’s equation, HPI had a positive correlation with WHVP (r = .471; p