Effects of vaso-active agents on hepatic function and blood gases in patients with cirrhosis: a study of vasopressin and nitroglycerin

The effects of vaso-active agents on hepatic function and splanchnic oxygenation were studied in 17 patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Eight patients received vasopressin (0.3 iu/min) and nine patients received nitroglycerin (50 micrograms/min). Both drugs caused a significant reduction in the portal venous pressure gradient. Vasopressin infusion significantly decreased intrinsic clearance of indocyanine green (-23%, P less than 0.01). This may be due to a decreased hepatic perfusion (-28%, P less than 0.01) and portal venous oxygenation (-15% in portal venous oxygen tension, P less than 0.05). In contrast, no changes in hepatic perfusion and portal venous oxygenation were observed after nitroglycerin infusion. Nitroglycerin did not decrease intrinsic clearance of indocyanine green. These results suggest that vasodilators, rather than vasoconstrictors, might be welcome in the treatment of patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension.

Nicardipine infusion improved hepatic function but failed to reduce hepatic venous pressure gradient in patients with cirrhosis

We investigated the effects of nicardipine on systemic and splanchnic hemodynamics and on liver function in 16 patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Patients received a continuous infusion of 0.3 mg/min of nicardipine (n = 10) and a control infusion (n = 6). No significant changes were observed after a control infusion. In contrast, systemic vasodilatation, evidenced by a significant fall in mean arterial pressure (-14%, p less than 0.01) and systemic vascular resistance (-30%, p less than 0.01), increased heart rate (+8%, p less than 0.01) and cardiac output (+21%, p less than 0.01), and increased hepatic blood flow (+43%, p less than 0.01) were observed at 60 min after a continuous infusion of nicardipine. Although nicardipine improved hepatic function (intrinsic clearance from 0.29 +/- 0.13 to 0.33 +/- 0.15 L/min, p less than 0.05), portal pressure evaluated by hepatic venous pressure gradient was not reduced significantly (from 16.3 +/- 4.9 to 15.1 +/- 5.7 mm Hg; NS). We conclude that a continuous infusion of nicardipine improves liver function but has no beneficial effect on portal pressure in patients with cirrhosis.

Sclerosing hepatocellular carcinoma with hypercalcemia--a case report

A case of sclerosing hepatocellular carcinoma (SHCC) with hypercalcemia was reported. Clinical studies revealed a tumor at the liver hilum with invasion into the bile duct. Light microscopy of the tumor disclosed a moderately differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) of the trabecular type with diffuse fibrous stroma. Abundant dense granules were observed in the cytoplasm of the tumor cells with electron microscopy. The elevated serum calcium (13.9 mg/dl) returned to the normal range after resection of the tumor.

Effect of intraportal nitroglycerin on portosystemic hemodynamics in patients with cirrhosis: comparison with i.v. route

We observed 18 patients with portal hypertension and cirrhosis to compare the effects of intraportal nitroglycerin on portosystemic hemodynamics with the i.v. route. Patients received 1 microgram/kg/min of nitroglycerin intravenously (n = 9) or the same dose of nitroglycerin directly into the portal vein (n = 9). Both routes of nitroglycerin significantly reduced mean arterial pressure and this effect was higher with the i.v. route (-28.0% versus -19.3%, p less than 0.02). The portal pressure, as evaluated by the portal venous pressure gradient or hepatic venous pressure gradient, was also reduced significantly in both groups. The fall in portal pressure was higher in the intraportal group, but the difference was not significant (intravenous versus intraportal, -23.9 versus -25.1% in portal venous pressure gradient, -25.2 versus -33.4% in hepatic venous pressure gradient). The hepatic blood flow was maintained despite the significant reduction in portal pressure by both routes. These results indicate that intraportal nitroglycerin decreases portal pressure with a smaller effect on systemic hemodynamics than the i.v. route. We conclude that the oral administration of nitroglycerin, which is a pathway equivalent to the intraportal route, may be more useful than the i.v. (i.e., sublingual) route in the treatment of portal hypertension.

Hemodynamic study during transdermal application of nitroglycerin tape in patients with cirrhosis

We studied 14 patients with portal hypertension and cirrhosis using portal and hepatic vein catheterizations to determine the effects of transdermal application of nitroglycerin tape (containing 10 mg of nitroglycerin and capable of releasing 6 to 7 mg of nitroglycerin in 12 hr) on splanchnic hemodynamics. Patients randomly received nitroglycerin (n = 7) or a placebo (n = 7). No significant changes were observed after the administration of the placebo. In contrast, transdermal nitroglycerin caused a significant reduction in portal pressure, as evaluated by measurements of the portal venous pressure gradient (-22%, p less than 0.01). The reduction of portal pressure was due to a decrease in the portal venous pressure, with no changes in the free hepatic venous pressure. Despite the fall in portal pressure, the hepatic blood flow was maintained. These findings suggest that transdermal nitroglycerin could be potentially useful in the treatment of portal hypertension associated with cirrhosis.

Gastric red spots in patients with cirrhosis: subclinical condition of gastric mucosal hemorrhage?

The present study was intended to assess the incidence and the nature of gastric red spots (GRS) in patients with liver cirrhosis. Endoscopically, GRS was more frequently observed in patients with cirrhosis (n = 146) than those without cirrhosis (n = 103) (43.2% vs. 4.8%; P less than 0.001). There was no relationship between the incidence of GRS and the severity of cirrhosis or the size of varices. Portal venous pressure was higher in cirrhotics with GRS (n = 21) than those without GRS (n = 25) (33.7 +/- 6.0 mmHg vs. 28.2 +/- 4.8 mmHg; P less than 0.001). Morphometric analysis using the biopsied specimens was made in 16 cirrhotics with GRS, 12 cirrhotics without GRS, and 15 non-cirrhotics. The capillary bed occupation ratio (vascular area/mucosal area) was higher in cirrhotics with GRS (9.3 +/- 4.0%) than those without GRS 84.1 +/- 1.1%) or the non-cirrhotics (3.4 +/- 9.8%) (P less than 0.005, P less than 0.005), while there was no significant differences in the number of capillaries per unit area. Infiltrating inflammatory cell count was similar among the three groups. Extravascular red blood cell count per unit area was higher in cirrhotics with GRS (29.7 +/- 31.4) than those without GRS (5.4 +/- 5.1) or non-cirrhotics (5.4 +/- 6.3) (P less than 0.05, P less than 0.01). Furthermore, extravasation of red blood cells through defective portion of the endothelium and interposition of red blood cells in interepithelial spaces were observed electron microscopically in cirrhotics with GRS.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Enzootic occurrence of chloramphenicol-resistant Salmonella typhimurium var copenhagen in calf population

Chloramphenicol (CP)-resistant Salmonella typhimurium var copenhagen was frequently isolated (44.1 to 76.7%) from dead, diseased, and healthy calves on 3 farms in 1973 in northern Japan. On 2 of the farms, CP-resistant salmonella appeared suddenly during an epizootic of salmonella infection, and persisted. Of 87 CP-resistant to tetracycline (TC), streptomycin (SM), and sulfonamides (SA), and the remaining 13 isolates from dead calves on a farm were resistant to TC, SM, SA, and kanamycin (KM). Resistance patterns of all CP-resistant isolates were transferred completely.