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Measurement of Portal Pressure and Transjugular Liver Biopsy

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Complications of Cirrhosis

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Abstract

Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) measurement is one of the most useful techniques in the field of hepatology. The HVPG is close to the best surrogate marker in chronic liver diseases. It reflects disease severity and has strong prognostic value with regard to survival and decompensation in patients with compensated cirrhosis, during acute bleeding and before liver resection surgery. Furthermore, repeat measurements of the HVPG provide unique information on the response to the medical treatment of portal hypertension and represent an invaluable tool for developing new drugs for this syndrome. Transjugular liver biopsy adds very little time or complications to an HVPG procedure, and allows adequate liver sampling in several circumstances in which the percutaneous approach is contraindicated. The use of automated cutting needles, as compared to aspiration needles, is associated with better quality samples.

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Ms. Rachel Borowski and Rebecca Thomlison for expert secretarial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cirrhosis Care Clinic, Liver Unit, Division of Gastroenterology, University of Alberta, 1-51 Zeidler Ledcor Center, T6E 2X8, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Juan G. Abraldes & Puneeta Tandon

  2. Department of Radiology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Philippe Sarlieve

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  1. Juan G. Abraldes
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Correspondence to Juan G. Abraldes .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Transplant, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, USA

    Andrew P. Keaveny

  2. Institut de Malalties Digestives i Metaboliques, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Andrés Cárdenas

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Abraldes, J., Sarlieve, P., Tandon, P. (2015). Measurement of Portal Pressure and Transjugular Liver Biopsy. In: Keaveny, A., Cárdenas, A. (eds) Complications of Cirrhosis. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13614-1_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13614-1_7

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