Pulmonary Complications Associated with Portal Hypertension

Abstract

Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a pulmonary vascular abnormality characterized by intrapulmonary vascular dilatations (IPVD) and arterial hypoxemia that occurs in the setting of either cirrhotic or noncirrhotic portal hypertension (1, 2, 3, 4). The clinical diagnostic triad is shown in Fig. 1. Prevalence rates for HPS in patients undergoing liver transplant evaluation have ranged from 5% to 29% (5). HPS is not age-dependent and can be seen in children; it affects males and females equally. To date, no specific etiology of liver disease has been associated with HPS and the degree of HPS has not been correlated with the severity of liver disease using the Childs-Turcotte-Pugh classification or the model for end-stage liver disease scoring system (MELD) (6).