[Ultrasonographic characteristics of the liver in chronic and acute leukemia]

Parenchyma of the liver and blood flow in the portal system were studied in patients with acute and chronic leukemias. Ultrasonic investigations of the liver with the use of Doppler's method were conducted in 82 leukemia patients. It has been found that in most cases of leukemia not only the size but also ultrasonic characteristics of parenchyma of the liver are changed. The echo-structure of the liver depends, first of all, on the duration of the disease and chemotherapy conducted, and, to a lesser degree, on the clinico-morphological forms of leukemias. At the same time a rise is observed in the portal blood flow rate that may be compensatory in response to anemia. Pronounced dilatation of the splenic vein and of the main stem of the hepatic vein, as well as an increased minute blood volume in hepatic vein of chronic leukemia patients, are, probably, caused by increased venous outflow from the enlarged spleen.