Hemodynamic differences between alcoholic and nonalcoholic cirrhotics following distal splenorenal shunt--effect on survival?

The distal splenorenal shunt significantly improves 5-year survival from variceal bleeding in nonalcoholic (70%) compared to alcoholic (45%) cirrhosis patients. This study quantitates hemodynamic differences occurring in the first year after DSRS in 16 alcoholic compared to eight nonalcoholic patients. Portal venous perfusion was retained significantly better (p less than .01) by the nonalcoholic (seven of eight) than by the alcoholic (four of sixteen) patients. Mean liver blood flow (p less than 0.07), flow/unit liver volume (p less than .05), and flow required to perform a specific hepatocyte function (p less than 0.05) all increased significantly in the alcoholic compared to nonalcoholic group. Cardiac output increased significantly in the alcoholic patients (p less than 0.05), but was unchanged in the nonalcoholic patients. The alcoholic patients divided into two subsets, 11 who showed increase in flow (1082 +/- 260 to 1496 +/- 388 ml/min) and five who did not (1246 +/- 269 to 994 +/- 159 ml/min). The former had significantly (p less than 0.05) poorer hepatocyte function and had a significant (p less than 0.05) increase in flow/unit volume and flow/unit function at 1 year, which may have helped to maintain hepatocyte integrity. The latter, in parallel with the nonalcoholic patients, showed no significant change in these parameters and maintained a good functional hepatocyte mass. These data lead us to hypothesize that: 1) alcoholic liver injury has an increased risk of leading to loss of portal perfusion after DSRS, 2) as hepatocyte function falls, there is initial increase in hepatic arterial flow in alcoholic patients, triggered by increase in cardiac output, and 3) progressive injury and/or failure of the compensatory hemodynamic mechanism leads to earlier mortality in alcoholic patients. In contrast, the nonalcoholic cirrhosis patients preserve portal perfusion and maintain liver blood flow, both quantitatively and qualitatively, with retained hepatocyte function and improved survival.