Late clinical, biochemical, endoscopic and electroencephalographic evaluation of patients with schistosomal portal hypertension treated with distal splenorenal shunt.

The authors performed a late evaluation of a distal splenorenal anastomosis minimum of five years following operation on 13 patients with schistosomiasis of the compensated liver-splenic type. The study of the anastomosis had been proven patent when the evaluation took place. Each patient underwent clinical, laboratorial, endoscopic and electroencephalographic assessment. The results demonstrated that no patient had shown any sign of recurrence of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Among the endoscopic aspects, esophageal varices disappeared in 46.1% of the cases. There was reduction in the number, extent and volume of esophageal varices in 46.1%, 38.4% and 53.8% of the cases. Gastric varices disappeared in 91.6% of the cases. Only one patient (7.6%) had shown clinical and electroencephalographic signs of hepatic encephalopathy in the late final evaluation (non-significant). Only one patient (7.6%) had shown late postoperative ascites (non-significant). There were no significant alterations in serum levels of sodium, potassium, urea and creatinine in all the 13 patients. The values of indirect serum bilirubin increased in 92.3% of the patients. There was regression of splenomegaly in all 13 patients, as well as a significant improvement in their hematological values. There were no significant changes in the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase or in the activity of the plasma prothrombin. The authors concluded that the distal splenorenal anastomosis became a protection factor against upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage and led to long-term improvement in the endoscopic aspects of esophagogastric varices, a significant improvement in the laboratorial aspects of hypersplenism and a marked reduction of splenomegaly with no significant changes in the hydroelectrolytic metabolism, renal function and hepatic function and had not compromised, long term, the quality of life of the majority of patients.