Talk:Portal hypertension/Archive 1

Definition

Portal hypertension is determined by a HVPG > 5 mmHg. Severe (or clinical significative) portal hypertension is usually considered as a value of HVPG > 10mmHg. The value of 12 mmHg (that is the one that it's currently stated in the article) is the threshold for variceal bleeding risk. I'll edit it, then. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Paracelso (talk • contribs) 11:47, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

Might be useful to include a link to this artlicle when searching for "portal vein hypertension" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.25.105.122 (talk) 20:35, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

I was disappointed that no mention is made of HOW portal vein blood pressure is determined. 128.172.67.237 (talk) 18:50, 8 May 2012 (UTC)

Signs and symptoms contradiction

The bullet point mentioning splenomegaly in portal hypertension currently reads as follows: "Splenomegaly (enlargement of the spleen) with a consequent accumulation of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, together leading to mild pancytopenia."

Pancytopenia is a condition in which all blood cell levels are reduced. Accumulation of blood cells would suggest increased levels of blood cells. However, the section describes pancytopenia as a consequence of accumulation of blood cells. To draw an analogy, this is like claiming that being poor is a consequence of accumulating a lot of money. Accumulation of blood cells should lead to increased levels of those blood cells, not decreased levels.

So, there are probably three possibilities here. Either 1) there is no pancytopenia, or 2) there is no accumulation of blood cells, or 3) the bullet point was phrased poorly and the intended meaning was that the spleen stores the blood cells, leading to reduced levels of those cells in the blood. I'll see if I can find some good sources to work this out, but review by an expert would be appreciated. -NorsemanII (talk) 08:11, 18 February 2014 (UTC)

Followup: Possibility 1 is ruled out. Found a reference citing pancytopenia as a consequence of splenomegaly which resulted from portal vein thrombosis (one of the causes of portal hypertension). Authors: Ozgur Harmanci, Yusuf Bayraktar. Title: "Portal hypertension due to portal venous thrombosis: Etiology, clinical outcomes" Link. -NorsemanII (talk) 08:34, 18 February 2014 (UTC)

Solution: The 'accumulation' refers to cell accumulation within the spleen, which doesn't exclude pancytopaenia (which refers to reduced serum levels -- that is, reduced throughout the vascular system). 'Accumulation' is the wrong choice of word for an abnormality of the serum anyway, instead implying a physical locus of collection. [1] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 159.92.9.130 (talk) 15:33, 15 April 2014 (UTC)

No contradiction then!: Can we remove the contradiction flag on the main page now? It seems obvious that there was a misunderstanding. Being poor is indeed a consequence of accumulating a lot of money. It's just that the being poor and the accumulating are done by two different people! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.75.4.239 (talk) 08:54, 22 January 2015 (UTC)