Echocardiographicaly Determined Pulmonary Artery Systolic Pressure in Hospitalized HCV Positive Liver Cirrhosis Patients

Introduction and Aim: In 1951 the coexistence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and hepatic dysfunction was first reported. The exact prevalence of this phenomenon is unclear. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) among a group of hospitalized HCV positive (HCV+ve) non alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis (LC) patients.Subjects and Methods: Fifty HCV+ve non alcoholic LC patients participated in the study. HCV infection was diagnosed in those with a positive test for HCV antibodies. Assessment of Blood hemoglobin (HB), liver function tests and Echocardiographic determination of PASP was done to all study participants. Patients suffering of more than mild valvular heart disease, left ventricular ejection fraction 50%, chronic pulmonary disease, documented or suspected pulmonary embolism, chronic kidney disease or collagen vascular disease were excluded. Those with poor echo window and those with undetectable tricuspid regurgitant jet were also excluded. Results: Four out of the studied patients (8%) had a PASP 40mmHg, three quarters of those with PASP 40mmHg belonged to Child-Pugh (CP) class C. Nearly 12% of women and 6% of men that participated in the current study had a PASP 40mmHg. PASP was significantly positively correlated to CP score and negatively correlated to HB.Conclusion: Eight percent of hospitalized HCV+ve non alcoholic LC patients had a PASP 40mmHg and three quarters of those patients belonged to CP class C. Nearly 12% of women and 6% of men that participated in the study had a PASP 40mmHg. PASP was significantly positively correlated to CP score, and negatively correlated to HB.