Frequency of Portal Hypertension among Patients with Cirrhotic Liver with Ultrasound

Purpose: Portal hypertension is a major complication of liver cirrhosis, predisposing patients to variceal bleeding, ascites, and splenomegaly.While hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) measurement is the diagnostic gold standard, it remains invasive and impractical in low-resource settings.This study aimed to determine the frequency of portal hypertension among cirrhotic patients using ultrasound as a noninvasive diagnostic tool.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 patients with liver cirrhosis at Sheikh Zayed Medical College and Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan.Abdominal ultrasound with Doppler imaging was performed to assess portal vein diameter, flow velocity, splenomegaly, ascites, and collateral circulation.Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25, with chi-square and correlation tests applied to determine associations. Results:Among 150 participants, 86.7% demonstrated sonographic evidence of portal hypertension.Splenomegaly was significantly associated with portal hypertension (p < 0.001), while liver texture changes were not statistically significant.No correlation was observed between portal vein diameter and flow velocity (r = -0.007,p = 0.930).Additional findings included ascites (71.3%), recanalized paraumbilical veins (38%), and reversed portal flow (16%).Conclusion: Ultrasound, particularly with Doppler evaluation, serves as an effective, non-invasive method for detecting portal hypertension in cirrhotic patients.Splenomegaly and portosystemic collaterals are key sonographic indicators.Given its accessibility and diagnostic accuracy, ultrasound is invaluable for early detection and management of portal hypertension, especially in resource-limited settings.