Color Doppler sonographic evaluation of spontaneous portosystemic shunts and inversion of portal venous flow in patients with cirrhosis

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of color Doppler sonography in the detection of spontaneous portosystemic shunts and abnormal blood flow direction in the portal vein in patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: Patients were 67 men and 42 women (mean age, 53 +/- 14 years) with cirrhosis confirmed by liver biopsy. All patients underwent abdominal gray-scale and color Doppler sonographic evaluations to detect the presence of spontaneous portosystemic shunts and to analyze portal vein blood flow direction. RESULTS: Spontaneous portosystemic shunts were found in 41 patients (38%), most often as splenorenal shunts (21%) and patent umbilical veins (14%). Less frequent were gastric collaterals, gallbladder varices, collaterals to thrombotic portal veins, mesoiliac shunts, and portorenal shunts to the right kidney. The presence of shunts was associated with that of esophageal varices (p < 0.01), ascites (p < 0.01), and inversion of portal flow (p < 0. 001) but not with splenomegaly. The direction of portal venous flow was normal (hepatopetal) in 80 patients (73%), hepatofugal in 10 (9%), and bidirectional in 7 (6%); 12 patients (11%) had partial portal vein thrombosis. CONCLUSIONS: Portosystemic shunts and the direction of portal venous flow are important features in the sonographic diagnosis of portal hypertension.