Título / Title

EVALUATION OF RETINAL VASCULATURE IN CHILDREN WITH PORTAL HYPERTENSION

Introdução / Purpose

Portal hypertension, a major complication of cirrhosis of the liver, has numerous systemic manifestations, including renal, cardiovascular and pulmonary changes. In the literature, there are few studies about retinal changes in cirrhosis: among the described findings, we can mention the presence of hemorrhages and cotton wool spots.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of vascular changes (vascular tortuosity) in children with a diagnosis of portal hypertension.

Material e Método / Methods

This was a observational and cross sectional study in which patients who met the following inclusion criteria were included: 1) Age under 18 years 2) Regular follow-up in Hepatology Sector of UNIFESP 3) Diagnosis of portal hypertension 4) Signature of the consent form by the participant and his/her legal representative. Participants underwent retinal examination and fundus photography (Visucam (Carl Zeiss meditec AG).

Resultados / Results

We included 72 patients with a mean age of 7 years, the majority being female (57%). The main liver disease associated with portal hypertension was biliary atresia, which was found in 35% of the patients. Vascular tortuosity was observed in 36% of the patients.

Discussão e Conclusões / Conclusion

In this study, we observed a significant percentage of retinal vascular tortuosity (36%) in children with portal hypertension. Further studies are necessary to establish the possible causes of this finding.

Palavras Chave

Portal Hypertension; Retinal Vasculature; Vascular Tortuosity