The free portal pressure in awake patients with and without cirrhosis of the liver.

The free portal pressure was measured by percutaneous transhepatic catheterization of the portal vein in 106 patients with cirrhosis of the liver and in 19 patients without liver disease and with normal portography. Patients with cirrhosis had a median portal pressure of 38 cmH2O and patients without liver disease had a median portal pressure of 16 cmH2O. Among the cirrhotic patients the free portal pressure showed no relationship to etiology of cirrhosis, ascites, variceal bleedings or extrahepatic shunting. The median portal pressure was significantly higher in patients with (40 cmH2O) than without (30 cmH2O) gastroesophageal varices (p less than 0.01). The pressure was not related to the size of the varices.