Changes in hepatic blood flow in patients with comorbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and vitamin B12 deficiency anemia

Abstract

Introduction. Altered hemodynamics in the liver is associated with an obligate manifestation of hypoxic stress that affects the functional status of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is important to consider in patients with comorbid pathology. Aim. The study of the characteristics of hepatic blood flow in patients with COPD with vitamin B12 deficiency anemia. Materials and methods. 58 patients with COPD were examined, mean age was 50.1±3.5 years, smoking history was 21.6±2.1 pack/years. The patients were divided into two groups: group 1 included 30 COPD patients without anemia, group 2 included 28 patients with concomitant vitamin B12 deficiency anemia. Results. It was found that in the 2nd group of patients there was a decrease by 13.8% in the ratio of the linear velocity of the portal flow and the diameter of the portal vein (Wilcoxon T-test, p=0.01), which is associated with “stagnant” phenomena of blood flow in the liver. At the same time, the functional parameters of blood flow in the hepatic pool of the bloodstream in patients of group 1 practically did not differ from those of healthy individuals (Mann-Whitney U Test, p=0.1). Conclusion. The presence of vitamin B12 deficiency anemia in patients with COPD initiates adverse changes in liver blood flow, which should be taken into account when stratifying the risk of this category of patients.