Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 11, Issue 10 517-520, Copyright © 1992 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Effect of verapamil on portal blood flow in patients with liver cirrhosis
N. Ljubicic and A. Bilic
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Zagreb, Republic of Croatia.
The effect of acute (80 mg orally) and prolonged (240 mg orally daily for 2
weeks) verapamil administration on portal blood flow was studied in 12
patients with histologically proved alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Portal
hemodynamics were examined by the ultrasonic duplex Doppler system. Thirty
minutes after acute verapamil administration, the following parameters
remained unchanged: (1) cross-sectional area of the portal vein, from 1.52
+/- 0.41 to 1.51 +/- 0.43 cm2; (2) portal blood velocity, from 13.2 +/- 1.6
to 13.4 +/- 1.6 cm/s; (3) estimated volume of portal blood flow, from 931
+/- 96 to 954 +/- 103 mL/min; and (4) congestion index of the portal vein,
from 15.1 +/- 8.3 to 15.6 +/- 8.8 cm, respectively (P = > 0.05). In
addition, no significant changes in portal blood hemodynamics were noted
after prolonged verapamil administration (P > 0.05). These results
demonstrated that verapamil did not alter portal blood flow in patients
with alcoholic liver cirrhosis.
