Cyanotic syndrome of portal hypertension in hepatosplenic schistosomiasis and portal cirrhosis. Report of four cases

Non-cirrhotic portal hypertension with hypoxaemia

Hypoxaemia and digital clubbing are rare but well recognised associations of hepatic cirrhosis with portal hypertension. We report the first European patient with idiopathic non-cirrhotic portal hypertension complicated by these features. Pulmonary physiological studies show the hypoxaemia to be the result of anatomical and physiological intrapulmonary shunting.