Abstract
Introduction
Liver is the largest organ of body and about 1.5 kg in average adult human. The basic functional unit of liver is lobule which is cylindrical, several mm in length and 0.8 to 2 mm in diameter. Cirrhosis is the most common condition associated with HPS. The cause of liver disease leading to portal hypertension does not seem to affect the development of HPS. Kennedy et al1,2 first defined HPS in 1977. HPS is characterized as a triad: liver disease, intrapulmonary vascular dilatation and arterial hypoxemia. HPS has been reported in patients with prehepatic portal hypertensionin the absence of chronic liver disease, in Budd-Chiari syndrome and even in patients with acute or chronic inflammatory liver disease without evidence of cirrhosis or portal hypertension3-7
The presence of HPS increases mortality in affected patients. No effective medical therapies are available for HPS, although liver transplantation reverses the syndrome in most patients. In clinical studies, the increase of nitric oxide production in the lung plays a role in HPS pathogenesis8-13. When compared with cirrhotic control patients, exhalation NO levels increase in the cases with cirrhotic HPS.
References
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Corresponding Author
Dr Arun Kumar
Senior Consultant Physician, District Hospital, Jhansi
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v8i5.29
