[Measurement of blood flow of the portal system in liver cirrhosis using the Doppler method].

Portal and splenchnic blood flow was studied in a group of 31 patients with hepatic cirrhosis and splenic veins. The authors used Acuson 128 with sector head 3,5 MHz enabling a simultaneous Doppler examination by means of impulse wave. A control group consisted of 50 healthy volunteers. Two patients had regressive flux in the portal vein, one patient had a reflux in the splenic vein. It was found that portal blood flow was significantly lower in the group examined than in the control group, and the splenic one was significantly higher. The sensitivity and specificity of the method of measuring the blood flow in the portal vein was 80%, and 88.2% respectively. 67.7% of patients had a different shape of the Doppler spectrum in the portal vein. That spectrum did not show the normally seen waves due to the heart beats. The authors' examinations show that the measurement of blood flow in the portal and splenic veins by means of the method using Doppler phenomenon provides valuable information on the haemodynamics of the portal system.