CT angiography identifies collaterals in dogs with splenic vein obstruction and presumed regional splenic vein hypertension

Computed tomography combined with gastroscopy for assessment of pancreatic segmental portal hypertension

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic segmental portal hypertension (PSPH) is the only type of portal hypertension that can be completely cured. However, it can easily cause varicose veins in the esophagus and stomach and hemorrhage in the digestive tract.

AIM

To explore the application of computed tomography (CT) to examine the characteristics of PSPH and assess the risk level.

METHODS

This was a retrospective analysis of CT images of 22 patients diagnosed with PSPH at our center. Spearman correlation analysis was performed using the range of esophageal and gastric varices (measured by the vertical gastric wall), the ratio of the width of the splenic portal vein to that of the compression site (S/C ratio), the degree of splenomegaly, and the stage determined by gastroscopy. This study examined whether patients experienced gastrointestinal bleeding within 2 wk and combined CT and gastroscopy to explore the connection between bleeding and CT findings.

RESULTS

The range of esophageal and gastric varices showed the best correlation in the diagnosis of PSPH (P < 0.001), and the S/C ratio (P = 0.007) was correlated with the degree of splenomegaly (P = 0.021) and PSPH (P < 0.05). This study revealed that male patients were more likely than females to progress to grade 2 or grade 3 as determined by gastroscopy. CT demonstrated excellent performance, with an area under the curve of 0.879.

CONCLUSION

CT can be used to effectively analyze the imaging signs of PSPH, and CT combined with gastroscopy can effectively predict the risk level of gastrointestinal bleeding.

The clinical applicability of percutaneous splenic vein stent implantation for pancreatic portal hypertension

Background

Pancreatic portal hypertension (PPH) is a type of extrahepatic portal hypertension. We compared the clinical efficacy of different treatment methods for PPH caused by splenic vein stenosis in chronic pancreatitis.

Methods

This article retrospectively analyzed the PPH cases that were caused by splenic vein stenosis after chronic pancreatitis. Patients were divided into three groups according to the different treatments: splenic vein stent implantation (stent group), splenectomy, and only medications (conservative group). The treatment effects from each group were compared.

Results

A total of 33 patients were retrospectively analyzed in this study (9, 12, and 12 patients in each group respectively). All the procedures were successful in the stent and splenectomy groups. During the follow-up, no patient had gastrointestinal bleeding recurrence in the stent and splenectomy groups. However, in the conservative group, the incidence of portal hypertensive gastropathy and upper gastrointestinal bleeding were 50% and 25%. In the stent group, all the varicose veins at the base of the stomach had shrunk by varying degrees, and the red color signs regressed. The stent patency rate was 100%. No major complication occurred. The average platelet count at 1, 3, 6-months postoperatively were all significantly higher than the preoperative value (P < 0.05). The average postoperative hospital stay duration was significantly shorter than that of the splenectomy group (3.1 ± 1.4 days vs. 16.1 ± 8.1 days; P < 0.05). In the splenectomy group, postoperative fever occurred in 4 patients. Postoperative infection occurred in 2 patients (one with abdominal cavity infection and the other with incision infection). Delayed abdominal bleeding occurred in one patient. Portal vein thrombosis occurred in 2 patients during follow up.

Conclusion

Percutaneous splenic vein stent implantation for PPH treatment reduces the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding with minimal invasive. It has a high safety and reliable efficacy and is worthy of further clinical promotion.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12876-022-02214-z.