Impact of Fentanyl Analgesia on the Accuracy of HVPG Measurements in Patients With Portal Hypertension

Portal hypertension is a common complication of chronic liver disease and is associated with most clinical consequences of cirrhosis. The most reliable method for assessing portal hypertension is the measurement of the hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG). The HVPG is the gold-standard methods for assessing clinically significant portal hypertension and becoming increasingly used clinically. It is useful in the differential diagnosis of portal hypertension and provides a prognostic index in cirrhotic patients. Many patients are painful and reluctant to undergo serial HVPG measurements. But interventionists are reluctant to use analgesics because they always pay more attention to the accuracy of HVPG measurements.Although Adam F. et al concluded that low-dose midazolam sedation is an option for patients undergoing serial hepatic venous pressure measurements (Hepatology 1999), the effects of using opioid analgesics alone on hepatic venous pressure measurements have not yet been defined. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of fentanyl on the HVPG.