Sonographic Assessment of Portal Vein Diameter among Healthy Adults in Saudi Arabia

Salah Albagir, Babiker A. Wahab, Ahmed Abdulrahman, Mogahid M.A. Zidan, Mohammed Yousef, Mustafa Z. Mahmoud, Ala M. A. Elgyoum, Mohamed Adam

 
International Journal of Biomedicine. 2020;10(3):211-214.
DOI: 10.21103/Article10(3)_OA2
Originally published September 10, 2020

Abstract: 

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mean values of the portal vein diameter (PVD) and establish its ultrasound reference values in healthy Saudi adults.

Methods and Results: A total of 124 healthy adult volunteers (45.2% males and 54.8% females, a mean age of 44.8±16 years), presenting at the US Department of El-Karama Medical Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were recruited between November 2018 and May 2019 for this prospective study. Abdominal US scans were conducted on a Hitachi Aloka F37 machine with a curvilinear transducer with a frequency of 3.5MHz. The data collection sheets completed for each subject included the following variables: sex, age, height, weight, and BMI (kg/m2). The mean PVD was 10.40±1.22mm and higher in men (10.7±1.1mm) than in women (10.1±1.2mm) (P<0.05). Study results showed that PVD did not correlate with age and BMI.

Conclusion: Further large-scale studies are needed to establish ultrasound reference values for PVD in healthy Saudi adults.

Keywords: 
portal vein diameter • ultrasound • body mass index • age
References: 
  1. Carneiro C, Brito J, Bilreiro C, et al. All about portal vein: a pictorial display to anatomy, variants and physiopathology. Insights Imaging. 2019;10(1):38. Published 2019 Mar 21. doi:10.1186/s13244-019-0716-8
  2. Corness JA, McHugh K, Roebuck DJ, Taylor AM. The portal vein in children: radiological review of congenital anomalies and acquired abnormalities. Pediatr Radiol. 2006;36(2):87-171. doi:10.1007/s00247-005-0010-4
  3. Tirumani SH, Shanbhogue AK, Vikram R, Prasad SR, Menias CO. Imaging of the porta hepatis: spectrum of disease [published correction appears in Radiographics. 2014 May-Jun;34;(3):848]. Radiographics. 2014;34(1):73-92. doi:10.1148/rg.341125190
  4. Geleto G, Getnet W, Tewelde T. Mean Normal Portal Vein Diameter Using Sonography among Clients Coming to Radiology Department of Jimma University Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia. Ethiop J Health Sci. 2016;26(3):237-242. doi:10.4314/ejhs.v26i3.6
  5. Chung-Chieng Wu.  Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Portal Hypertension and Liver Cirrhosis J Med Ultrasound 2008;16(3):188–193
  6. Mahadevan V. Anatomy of the pancreas and spleen. Surgery (Oxford). 2019;37(6):297-301
  7. Margini C, Berzigotti A. Portal vein thrombosis: The role of imaging in the clinical setting. Dig Liver Dis. 2017;49(2):113-120. doi:10.1016/j.dld.2016.11.013
  8. Procopet B, Berzigotti A. Diagnosis of cirrhosis and portal hypertension: imaging, non-invasive markers of fibrosis and liver biopsy. Gastroenterol Rep (Oxf). 2017;5(2):79-89. doi:10.1093/gastro/gox012
  9. Weinreb J, Kumari S, Phillips G, Pochaczevsky R. Portal vein measurements by real-time sonography. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1982;139(3):497-499. doi:10.2214/ajr.139.3.497
  10. Al-Nakshabandi NA. The role of ultrasonography in portal hypertension. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2006;12(3):111-117. doi:10.4103/1319-3767.29750
  11. Schabel SI, Rittenberg GM, Javid LH, Cunningham J, Ross P. The "bull's-eye" falciform ligament: a sonographic finding of portal hypertension. Radiology. 1980;136(1):157-159. doi:10.1148/radiology.136.1.7384492
  12. Bhattacharya J, Dasb A, Bhowmikc A. Sonographical Assessment of Portal Vein Diameter in Northern Part of West Bengal, India. Oct Jour Env Res. 2013;1(3):231–234
  13. Hawaz Y, Admassie D, Kebede T. Ultrasound Assessment of Normal Portal Vein Diameter in Ethiopians Done at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital. East Cent Afr J Surg. 2012;17(1):90–93.
  14. Usman AU, Ibinaiye P, Ahidjo A, Tahir A, Sa'ad ST, Mustapha Z, Tahir N, Garko S. Ultrasound Determination of Portal Vein Diameter in Adult Patients with Chronic Liver Disease in North-Eastern Nigeria. Sub-Saharan Afr J Med 2015; 2(2): 57–63.
  15. Adeyekun AA, Tsebi HB. Grey-scale sonographic evaluation of portal vein diameter in healthy Nigerian adults. Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Research 2014; 13(1): 17–24.
  16. Weinreb J, Kumari S, Phillips G, Pochaczevsky R. Portal vein measurements by real-time sonography. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1982;139(3):497-499. doi:10.2214/ajr.139.3.497
  17. Webb LJ, Berger LA, Sherlock S. Grey-scale ultrasonography of portal vein. Lancet. 1977;2(8040):675-677. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(77)90492-5
  18. Ukperi OS. Ultrasonographic measurement of normal portal vein diameter in Nigerian adults.  Dissertation submitted to the faculty of  radiology, West African college of  surgeons. 2010
  19. Yazdi HR, Sotoudeh H. Assessment of Normal Doppler Parameters of Portal Vein and Hepatic Artery in 37 Healthy Iranian Volunteers. Iran J Radiol 2006; 4: 213–216.
  20. Ongoiba N, Sissoko F, Ouologuem I, S Berete, A K Traore, S Sidibe, M Toure, A D Keita, A K Koumare. Veine porte: anatomie échographique [Portal vein: echographic anatomy]. Morphologie. 2003; 87(277): 29–32. [Article in French]
  21. Luntsi G, Sani M, Zira JD, Ivor NC, Garba SH. Sonographic assessment of the portal vein diameter in apparently healthy adults in a Northern Nigerian population. Afr Health Sci. 2016;16(4):1163-1168. doi:10.4314/ahs.v16i4.35
  22. Saha N, Sarkar R, Singh MM. Portal vein diameter in a tertiary care centre in North-East India. IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences. 2015; 14(1): 114–117.
  23. Raza Siddiqui T, Hassan N, Gul P. Effect of anthropometrical measurements on portal vein and hepatosplenic span. Pak J Med Sci. 2013;29(4):1077-1080. doi:10.12669/pjms.294.3617
  24. Goyal AK, Pokharna DS, Sharma SK. Ultrasonic measurements of portal vasculature in diagnosis of portal hypertension. A controversial subject reviewed. J Ultrasound Med. 1990;9(1):45-48. doi:10.7863/jum.1990.9.1.45
  25. Patriquin HB, Perreault G, Grignon A. Boisvert J, Filiatrault D, Garel L, Blanchard H. Normal portal venous diameter in children. Pediatr Radiol. 1990;20(6):451-453. doi:10.1007/BF02075206
  26. Ghosh TN, Bernerjee M, Basu S, Das R, Kumar P, De S, Ghosh MK, Ganguly S. Assessment of normal portal vein diameter in children. Trop Gastroenterol. 2014;35(2):79-84.
  27. Raut RS, Bahetee BH. Study of Anatomical Dimensions of Portal Vein. Sch J App Med Sci. 2015; 3(3E): 1343–1345.

Download Article
Received July 27, 2020.
Accepted August 30, 2020.
©2020 International Medical Research and Development Corporation.