Hepatopulmonary syndrome: report of one case

Hepatopulmonary syndrome consists of a triad of chronic liver disease, hypoxemia, and intrapulmonary vascular dilatation in the absence of primary cardiac or pulmonary diseases. Though this complication has been described in as many as 4-29% of patients with liver disease, its clinical manifestations are often subclinical. The standard diagnostic tests for hepatopulmonary syndrome are the applications of contrast echocardiography and 99mTc lung perfusion scan. In this report, we describe a 19-year-old female with biliary atresia and subsequent liver cirrhosis, who also had the complication of hepatopulmonary syndrome since adolescence. We conclude when the symptoms and signs of hypoxemia appear in a patient with chronic liver disease, the differential diagnosis of hepatopulmonary syndrome should be kept in mind.