A new method to assess gastric mucosa rewarming time in patients with portal hypertension.

ABSTRACT

It is possible that the mucosal damage in congestive gastropathy of portal hypertensive patients may have an ischemic basis, since rewarming time in other sites correlates with local blood flow, a method was designed to assess the capacity of the gastric mucosa to rewarm the stomach after a cold challenge, as an index of ischemia. Eleven control subjects and 15 patients with portal hypertension (10 treated with sclerotherapy) were studied with an integrated circuit temperature transducer connected to a digital display. A balloon containing the temperature transducer inside was reversibly fixed 10 cm. proximally to the distal end of a panendoscope. Once upper endoscopy was completed, the balloon placed in the antrum was infused with cooled water (2 degrees C) through a polyethylene tube. The time elapsed for the water to be rewarmed from 20 degrees C to 25 degrees C to 30 degrees C and 20 degrees C to 30 degrees C was measured. Reproducibility of repeated measurements, gave a coefficient of variation of 6