This protocol addresses patients with chronic liver disease and portal hypertension who have developed hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) with arterial hypoxaemia — specifically an arterial PaO₂ below 60 mmHg.
Hepatopulmonary syndrome is a serious pulmonary complication arising in the setting of chronic liver disease with portal hypertension. When oxygenation falls to a PaO₂ below 60 mmHg, the clinical urgency increases substantially and specific evaluation and management decisions are required.
For patients meeting these criteria, management centres on a specific surgical intervention — the only modality that has been demonstrated to be effective for HPS in this setting.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2018.03.024
Patients with HPS and PaO₂ <60 mmHg should be evaluated for LT since it is the only treatment for HPS that has been proven to be effective to date (II-2;1).
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