Spleen size in cirrhosis of different etiologies

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of cirrhosis etiology on spleen size as measured by sonography and computed tomography (CT).

The spleen images of 139 patients with cirrhosis secondary to alcohol abuse, hepatitis C, or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis were reviewed retrospectively. The maximum diagonal spleen length on a single sonogram and maximum spleen diameter on axial, coronal, or sagittal CT, whichever was largest, was compared among the etiologic groups.

In 127 patients who underwent sonography, the mean spleen size ± SD on sonography in the alcohol group (13.1 ± 2.5 cm) was significantly smaller than in the hepatitis C (15.0 ± 3.4 cm) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (15.2 ± 3.0 cm) groups (95% confidence intervals of the mean difference, 0.6 to 3.3 and 0.8 to 3.4 cm, respectively). In 87 patients who underwent CT, the mean spleen size on CT in the alcohol group (14.0 ± 2.7 cm) was smaller than in the hepatitis C (15.9 ± 3.4 cm) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (15.5 ± 3.6 cm) groups, but the difference was not statistically significant. The spleen sizes on both sonography and CT in 79 patients were strongly correlated (r = 0.88; P < .0001).

Spleen size in patients with cirrhosis varies by the etiology of the disease. Therefore, to apply spleen size as a diagnostic or prognostic criterion in this context, it is important to recognize that cutoff values derived from spleen size in one etiologic group may not produce the same results when extrapolated to another etiologic group.