Alteracões na função pulmonar secundárias a cirrose hepática

AUTOR(ES)
FONTE

IBICT - Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia

DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

1995

RESUMO

Hepatic cirrhosis and its consequences have intrigued doctors for a long time, specially by its multi-systemic extent and also because the Medical Science has not yet revealed a great part of the aspects of biochemical and cellular metabolism which are affected by chronic hepatic malfunction. Although written more than a hundred years ago in a rather empirical way, hepatopulmonary syndrome has been studied and progressively focused over the last decades. Its modifications and findings, however, were well defined only some years ago. Nevertheless, the aetiopathogenic biochemical mechanism is still being speculated. The presence of arterial hypoxaemia in hepatic cirrhosis is a welldocumented fact. The physiopathogenic mechanisms are being widely studied. It is assumed that there are alterations on the pulmonary vascularity which determine small and numerous arterial-venous shunts. The presence of anatomic intrapulmonary shunts, although present and well documented, is low in quantity and they could hardly explain such low levels of arterial oxigenation in cirrhotic patients. It is a premise that alterations occur in the pulmonary dynamics and that the diffusion of gases may be altered. This paper focuses on the aspects related to the pulmonary function and to the arterial oxygenation levels, in patients diagnosed of hepatic cirrhosis, without serious pulmonary, cardiac or haematologic morbidity. They are later submitted to a pulmonary function evaluation through the measurement of the forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume and residual volume as well as diffusion measurement of carbon monoxide. Finally, it evaluates the arterial oxygenation through arterial gasometry in resting condition and with oxygen to 100%. The analysis of the results obtained allowed us to observe the presence of normal pulmonary fluxes and volumes ( average quantities of: FVC = 104,6 %; FEV 1 = 101,7%; Residual Volume = 114,3% ), and diffusion was diminished ( average = 70,48% ) in relation to what was expected. The evaluation of the arterial gases came to an average PaO2 of 82,48 mmHg in resting condition and 518, 2 mmHg when oxygen is inspired at 100%. No correlations among the PaO2 ( in resting conditions and with oxygen ) and diffusion capacity were observed. In this study, the fluxes and pulmonary volumes were normal in relation to was expected; however, the diffusion of carbon monoxide presented itself diminished. This diminished diffusion corroborates the existing idea of the so-called diffusion-perfusion disturbance as one of the mechanisms involved in the physiopathogeny of the hepatic pulmonary syndrome, even without evidence of intrapulmonary morphological arterial-venous shunt.

ASSUNTO(S)

cirrose hepática pneumopatias anoxemia capacidade de difusão pulmonar

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

Documentos Relacionados