Cavographic study of an early stage of obstruction of the hepatic portion of the inferior vena cava.

BACKGROUND: Liver disease caused by a chronic lesion of the hepatic portion of the inferior vena cava (IVC) is clinically characterized by dilated superficial veins in the body trunk with cephalad flow, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. Cavography shows stenosis or complete obstruction near the cava-atrial junction. METHODS: Early (acute and subacute) forms of the disease were recognized. The early stage of the disease manifested as jaundice, hepatomegaly or ascites and fever. Patients with acute and subacute onset of the illness with no past history of liver disease were studied with inferior vena cavography. Some of the patients had repeat cavography at 6 months and at 1 year after the initial investigations. RESULTS: Three types of cavographic lesions were observed in the early stages of the disease: type 1, linear lucent area in the IVC close to cava-atrial junction; type 2, a smooth or irregular narrowing of almost the whole segment of the hepatic portion of the IVC; and type 3, a constriction or narrowing of a segment of the IVC near the cava-atrial junction. The first two types were associated with the acute stage of the disease and type 3 with the subacute stage. Type 2 and 3 lesions were associated with post-stenotic dilatation (PSD) close to the atrium. Lucent areas resulting from thrombosis are common in PSD. The acute and subacute hepatic IVC diseases in Nepal are commonly associated with bacterial infection. CONCLUSIONS: It is postulated that the early cavographic lesions are consistent with thrombosis and thrombophlebitis of the hepatic portion of the IVC, and that resolution of the lesions leads to the development of stenosis and to complete obstruction.

Endemicity and clinical picture of liver disease due to obstruction of the hepatic portion of the inferior vena cava in Nepal.

Obstructive lesion of the hepatic portion of the inferior vena cava is common in Nepal. The clinical data on 150 patients who were seen at the Liver Unit, Bir Hospital, Kathmandu, in three years from 1990 to 1992 were analysed. Although the majority of patients were over 20 years of age, 25 patients were below 10 years of age; there were more males than females in this study. This disease accounted for 17% of 866 patients with chronic liver disease and for nearly one quarter of 267 biopsies performed on this patient group during the same period. Obstructive lesions of the inferior vena cava seem to be more common among poor people with malnutrition. Clinically, our patient group could be divided into acute (n = 27), subacute (n = 43) and chronic (n = 80) cases. The important clinical features are hepatomegaly and/or ascites and, in chronic cases, prominent dilated superficial veins over the body trunk with cephalad flow. Ultrasound is the most helpful diagnostic procedure, especially in subacute and chronic cases, as it frequently demonstrates caval obstruction, thrombosis, dilated hepatic veins and intrahepatic collaterals. Diagnosis is confirmed by cavography, which shows a caval obstruction of varying lengths at the cavo-atrial junction or a marked narrowing of the hepatic portion of the vena cava. In subacute and chronic cases cavography also demonstrates collateral veins, such as the ascending lumbar, hemiazygos and azygos that drain into the superior vena cava. Chronic cases had periods of exacerbation often associated with bacterial infection. The aetiology of inferior vena cava obstruction at its hepatic portion is not known, but there seems to be a frequent association of bacterial infection with the disease.