Korean J Hepatol > Volume 6(2); 2000 > Article
The Korean Journal of Hepatology 2000;6(2): 197-204.
원저 : 간경변증 환자에서 저산소혈증의 발생기전에 관한 연구 ( A Study for Hypoxemic Mechanisms in Liver Cirrhosis )
A Study for Hypoxemic Mechanisms in Liver Cirrhosis
Jung Woo Shin, M.D., Il Han Song, M.D., Myoung Ju Ki, M.D., Moo Yong Rhee, M.D., and Seok Gun Park, M.D.1
Department of Internal Medicine and Nuclear Medicine1, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea
ABSTRACT
Background/Aims
Hypoxemia is often associated with liver cirrhosis without cardiopulmonary diseases. Pulmonary vascular impairments including intrapulmonary shunt have been considered as a major mechanism of hypoxemia. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and pathophysiologic basis of hypoxemia in cirrhotic patients without respiratory symptoms. Methods: In fourty three cirrhotic patients without heart and lung diseases, we performed the arterial blood gas analysis and calculated alveolar arterial oxygen gradient (A-aO2). According to the A-aO2, the patients were divided into hypoxemic and normoxemic groups. In each group, a Tc-99m-macroaggregated albumin (Tc-99m-MAA) scan, a contrast-enhanced echocardiography and a pulmonary function test were performed. Results: Twenty-eight of 43 patients (65%) showed hypoxemia. Hypoxemic patients showed significantly more increased shunt fraction of 3.1 1.4% than normoxemic one of 2.1 1.1% in the Tc-99m-MAA scan (p<0.05). However, only two of hypoxemic patients had shunt fraction above physiologic shunt range. By contrast-enhanced echocardiography, an intrapulmonary shunt was confirmed in one patient. There was no significant correlation between the shunt fraction and the hepatic reserve based on the Child-Pugh classification in hypoxemic patients. In the results of pulmonary function test, only DLco decreased more significantly in hypoxemic group than in normoxemic group (58.4 14.2 % vs 75.3 16.5% of predicted, p<0.05). Conclusions: Hypoxemia is not infrequently observed in cirrhosis, but incidence of significant intrapulmonary shunt is low. Therefore, other mechanism such as diffusion defect may be suggested to play a role in the development of hypoxemia in cirrhotic patients without respiratory symptoms. (Korean J Hepatol 2000;6:197-204)
KeyWords: Liver cirrhosis, Hypoxemia, Pulmonary function test

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