PO 2 Distribution in Resting Muscle and Pulmonary Gas Exchange in Patients with Cirrhosis

As is well known, many cirrhosis patients have elevated cardiac output and lowered peripheral vascular resistance [1, 2]. The demonstrable disturbances of pulmonary gas exchange [3] in these patients could be partially attributed to changes in pulmonary microflow [4]. Moreover, the capability of cirrhotics to withstand major surgery depends more on the extent of these circulatory changes than on liver function parameters [5, 6]. The cardiac output-O2 consumption ratio, i. e., O2 extraction rate, an index of microflow efficiency, has proved to be a prognostically important parameter for establishing this capability [6]. The findings tend to indicate that changes in peripheral blood flow distribution in these patients impair tissue oxygen supply. The following studies were carried out to test whether disturbances of gas exchange, such as those demonstrated in the lungs, are also detectable in peripheral tissue and whether they correlate significantly with impaired pulmonary function or severity of liver disease.