Liver failure, caused by things such as hepatitis and cirrhosis, leads to an array of symptoms including cardiorespiratory insufficiency (hepatopulmonary syndrome; HPS) and renal failure (hepatorenal syndrome; HRS). Disregarding the cause of liver failure itself, discuss the development of both of these symptoms.
Hepatopulmonary Syndrome Figure 1: Blood Flow in Normal Conditions and Hepatopulmonary Syndrome (Grace & Angus, 2013).
Figure 1 (above) shows the blood flow in a normal patient (top), versus blood flow of a patient with Hepatopulmonary Syndrome (HPS).
HPS can be defined by liver disease, intrapulmonary vasodilation in both capillaries and precapillaries, as well as a reduction in arterial oxygenation. It is most commonly seen alongside cirrhosis, but can also occur with other liver diseases. However, it should be noted that advanced liver disease is not required for HPS to develop …show more content…
The splanchnic circulation system consists of the; gastric small intestinal colonic, pancreatic, hepatic, and also the splenic circulations. These are all arranged to run parallel to one another (Parks & Jacobson, 1985).
HPS and hepatic portal hypertension are linked because they are both associated with liver damage (Porres-Aguilar, Altamirano, Torre-Delgadillo, Charlton, & Duarte-Rojo, 2012).
The underfill theory is when the vascular compartment becomes enlarged due to the formation of ascites, which then induces a series of haemodynamic and hormonal compensatory events, for example, an increase in cardiac output, activation of the sympathetic nervous system, as well as others. All of the triggered compensatory events lead to the refilling of the vascular compartment. This underfilling has reached its maximum when hepatorenal syndrome occurs (Gentilini & Laffi,
Hepatopulmonary Syndrome Figure 1: Blood Flow in Normal Conditions and Hepatopulmonary Syndrome (Grace & Angus, 2013).
Figure 1 (above) shows the blood flow in a normal patient (top), versus blood flow of a patient with Hepatopulmonary Syndrome (HPS).
HPS can be defined by liver disease, intrapulmonary vasodilation in both capillaries and precapillaries, as well as a reduction in arterial oxygenation. It is most commonly seen alongside cirrhosis, but can also occur with other liver diseases. However, it should be noted that advanced liver disease is not required for HPS to develop …show more content…
The splanchnic circulation system consists of the; gastric small intestinal colonic, pancreatic, hepatic, and also the splenic circulations. These are all arranged to run parallel to one another (Parks & Jacobson, 1985).
HPS and hepatic portal hypertension are linked because they are both associated with liver damage (Porres-Aguilar, Altamirano, Torre-Delgadillo, Charlton, & Duarte-Rojo, 2012).
The underfill theory is when the vascular compartment becomes enlarged due to the formation of ascites, which then induces a series of haemodynamic and hormonal compensatory events, for example, an increase in cardiac output, activation of the sympathetic nervous system, as well as others. All of the triggered compensatory events lead to the refilling of the vascular compartment. This underfilling has reached its maximum when hepatorenal syndrome occurs (Gentilini & Laffi,