Prevalence of Risk Factors and Complications of Portal Vein Thrombosis in Patients with Cirrhosis

Abstract

Liver cirrhosis, the twelfth leading cause of death in the United States and according to the latest WHO data published in May 2014 Liver Disease Deaths in Egypt reached 41,355 or 8.92% of total deaths. The age adjusted Death Rate is 67.54 per 100,000 of population ranks Egypt #2 in the world. It is the end result of the hepatocellular injury that leads to both fibrosis and regenerative nodules throughout the liver. Causes include chronic viral hepatitis, alcohol, drug toxicity, autoimmune, metabolic liver diseases, and miscellaneous disorders. Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) means obstruction of the portal vein or its branches by a blood clot. The prevalence of PVT in patients with cirrhosis has been reported more frequently in recent years. The reported prevalence of PVT is in the range of 0.6%-15.8% in patients with liver cirrhosis or portal hypertension. Moreover, the prevalence of PVT increases with patient age and liver disease severity, reaching 15% in patients awaiting liver transplantation. Inherited and acquired thrombophilic disorders, bacterial infection and sluggish portal flow may all play a role in the high prevalence of PVT in patients with liver cirrhosis.