• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.44 no.3
• /
• pp.639-648
• /
• 1997

Background : Arterial hypoxemia has been noted in patients with liver cirrhosis because of bronchial vessel dilatation. Cabenes et al. reported that bronchial hyperresponsiveness to the metacholine inhalation was observed in patients of left side heart failure, he suggested that one of the mechanism was bronchial vessel dilatation. We hypothesized that patients of liver cirrhosis might have bronchial hyperresponsiveness to metacholine inhalation due to portal hypertension. We evaluate the relationship between bronchial responsiveness and severity of liver cirrhosis, severity of portal hypertension. Methods : In the 22 patients of the liver cirrhosis with clinical portal hypertension, metacholine provocation test was done and determined $PC_{20}FEV1$. We classified liver cirrhosis according to Pugh-Child classification. Esophagogastroscopies were performed for the evaluation of the relationship between bronchial hyperresponsiveness and severity of esophageal varix. Results : In the 22 cases of the liver cirrhosis with clinical portal hypertension. The causes of liver cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis was 9 cases, hepatitis B virus was 12 cases, hepatitis C virus was 1 case, and 151 cases (68.18%) of total 22 cases were positive in metacholine provocation test. In positive cases. There was no significant relationship between $PC_{20}FEV1$ and severity of liver cirrhosis which were classified by Pugh-Child classification or severity of esophageal varix(p<0.05). Conclusion : we observed that bronchial responsiveness to metacholine increased in the patients of liver cirrhosis and there was no significant relationship between the severity of liver cirrhosis and the severity of esophageal varix.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.58 no.2
• /
• pp.174-178
• /
• 2005

The bronchial varices in mitral stenosis are uncommon and incidentally discovered during bronchoscopy. Although bronchial varices are primarily associated with bronchial or pulmonary disease, the bronchial vein can be dilated with increased pulmonary venous pressure secondary to mitral stenosis. The bronchial varices may present massive hemoptysis. The hemoptysis can be controlled by mitral commissurotomy or mitral valve replacement in case of mitral stenosis. We report a case of bronchial varies in a patient with severe mitral stenosis. The bronchial varices were found incidentally during bronchoscopy and they were nearly disappeared by mitral valve replacement.