Ponziani FR, Zocco MA, Campanale C, Rinninella E, Tortora A, Maurizio LD, Bombardieri G, Cristofaro RD, Gaetano AMD, Landolfi R, Gasbarrini A. Portal vein thrombosis: Insight into physiopathology, diagnosis, and treatment. World J Gastroenterol 2010; 16(2): 143-155 [PMID: 20066733 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i2.143]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Francesca R Ponziani, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy. francesca.ponziani@yahoo.it
Article-Type of This Article
Review
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 14, 2010; 16(2): 143-155 Published online Jan 14, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i2.143
Portal vein thrombosis: Insight into physiopathology, diagnosis, and treatment
Francesca R Ponziani, Maria A Zocco, Chiara Campanale, Emanuele Rinninella, Annalisa Tortora, Luca Di Maurizio, Giuseppe Bombardieri, Raimondo De Cristofaro, Anna M De Gaetano, Raffaele Landolfi, Antonio Gasbarrini
Francesca R Ponziani, Maria A Zocco, Chiara Campanale, Emanuele Rinninella, Annalisa Tortora, Luca Di Maurizio, Giuseppe Bombardieri, Raimondo De Cristofaro, Raffaele Landolfi, Antonio Gasbarrini, Department of Internal Medicine, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy
Anna M De Gaetano, Department of Bioimaging and Radiological Sciences, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy
Author contributions: Ponziani FR designed and wrote the review; De Gaetano AM and Zocco MA collected the images; Campanale C, Rinninella E, Tortora A and Di Maurizio L wrote the references and tables; Bombardieri G, De Cristofaro R, Landolfi R and Gasbarrini A revised the paper.
Correspondence to: Francesca R Ponziani, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, Catholic University of Rome, 00168 Rome, Italy. francesca.ponziani@yahoo.it
Telephone: +39-347-1227242 Fax: +39-6-30156018
Received: October 23, 2009 Revised: November 23, 2009 Accepted: November 30, 2009 Published online: January 14, 2010
Abstract
Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a relatively common complication in patients with liver cirrhosis, but might also occur in absence of an overt liver disease. Several causes, either local or systemic, might play an important role in PVT pathogenesis. Frequently, more than one risk factor could be identified; however, occasionally no single factor is discernable. Clinical examination, laboratory investigations, and imaging are helpful to provide a quick diagnosis, as prompt treatment might greatly affect a patient’s outcome. In this review, we analyze the physiopathological mechanisms of PVT development, together with the hemodynamic and functional alterations related to this condition. Moreover, we describe the principal factors most frequently involved in PVT development and the recent knowledge concerning diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Finally, we analyze the implications of PVT in the setting of liver transplantation and its possible influence on patients’ future prognoses.
