Minerva Gastroenterologica e Dietologica 2020 Jun 02

DOI: 10.23736/S1121-421X.20.02684-7

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Non-cirrhotic portal hypertension in inflammatory bowel disease

Adil S. MIR ¹ ✉, Dario SORRENTINO ^{2, 3}

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Carilion Clinic, Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Roanoke, VA, USA; ² IBD Center Division of Gastroenterology, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, VA, USA; ³ Department of Clinical and Experimental Medical Sciences, University of Udine School of Medicine, Udine, Italy

With the increasing incidence and prevalence of IBD, its complications and associated morbidity also continue to rise. One of these is non-cirrhotic portal hypertension. There is an increasing need of recognizing and understanding the pathophysiology of this condition in the clinical setting of IBD, especially in long standing cases. Due to multiple potential factors, patients with IBD appear to be at a higher risk of developing portal hypertension even in the absence of liver cirrhosis. Portal hypertension is usually diagnosed when complications (such as ascites, variceal bleeding) develop, especially when patients have already experienced multiple complications of the disease. Hence, a high level of vigilance for the detection of portal hypertension at an early stage is needed. This review discusses the known epidemiology, clinical characteristics, clinical presentation, modalities of diagnosis and the potential treatments of the different forms of non-cirrhotic portal hypertension associated with IBD. The concomitant presence of portal hypertension can significantly impact the overall clinical picture and disease burden in IBD. Hence, increased awareness of this condition at an early stage might help tailor a comprehensive and individualized therapeutic plan of care for these patients.

KEY WORDS: Portal hypertension; Inflammatory bowel disease; Liver