住野 泰清¹, 草野 昌男^{1, 2}, 窪田 学^{1, 2}, 川船 隆史¹, 松丸 克彦¹, 篠原 正夫¹, 池原 孝¹, 谷川 佳世子^{1, 2}, 石井 耕司¹, 橋本 優子²

Yasukiyo SUMINO¹, Masao KUSANO^{1, 2}, Manabu KUBOTA^{1, 2}, Takashi KAWAFUNE¹, Katsuhiko MATSUMARU¹, Masao SHINOHARA¹, Takashi IKEHARA¹, Kayoko TANIGAWA^{1, 2}, Koji ISHII¹, Yuko HASHIMOTO²

¹東邦大学医学部内科第2講座, ²東邦大学医学部付属大森病院超音波検査室

¹Second Department of Internal Medicine, Toho University School of Medicine, ²Ultrasound Laboratory, Toho University Omori Hospital

キーワード : Alcoholic hepatitis, Diagnosis, Hepatic artery, Pseudoparallel channel sign, Ultrasound

We have previously reported characteristic "pseudoparallel channel sign (PPCS)" of intrahepatic artery dilatation observed within the liver subsegments of patients with alcoholic hepatitis in the United States. Here we attempt to assess the significance of this sign among Japanese patients with alcoholic liver injury and to determine whether or not this sign has universal validity for diagnosing alcoholic hepatitis. PPCS was specifically searched for in consecutive patients: 7 with alcoholic hepatitis , 94 with other alcoholic liver diseases, and 392 with nonalcohol-related liver diseases. When PPCS was observed, color Doppler ultrasound was used to distinguish it from the authentic parallel channel sign of biliary obstruction. As a result, PPCS was observed in 6 (86%) of 7 patients with alcoholic hepatitis and in 2 of 16 patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis accompanied by gigantic portosystemic shunt. PPCS was not detected in patients with other liver diseases. We conclude that PPCS is observed in Japanese patients with alcoholic hepatitis at a rate similar to that seen in patients in the United States. Our results strongly suggest that PPCS is an important diagnostic finding in alcoholic hepatitis.