Increased blood flow in the stomach of cirrhotic patients as assessed by radionuclide angiography.

To assess the gastric hemodynamics of patients with cirrhosis of the liver, radionuclide angiography of the left gastric artery, using technetium-99m-labeled human serum albumin (99mTc-HSA), was performed in 13 cirrhotics and 4 control subjects. The half-life (T1/2) of radioactivity of the stomach was significantly shorter in cirrhotics than in controls, 7.1 +/- 2.2 s (+/- SD, n = 13) and 14.1 +/- 3.4 s (+/- SD, n = 4), respectively (p less than 0.001). Accordingly, the calculated blood flow per unit plasma volume of the stomach of cirrhotics was significantly increased compared with that of controls, 6.4 +/- 1.9 ml/min (+/- SD, n = 13) and 3.1 +/- 0.8 ml/min (+/- SD, n = 4), respectively (p less than 0.01). These results provide direct evidence that a hyperdynamic state exists in the gastric circulation of cirrhotic patients.