Medical treatment for hepatopulmonary syndrome: a systematic review

Introduction: Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is known as a chronic liver disease associated with severe pulmonary deoxygenation due to intrapulmonary vascular vasodilation. Although liver transplantation is accepted as a main treatment of HPS, identifying effective drugs for recovery of HPS can be effective in postponing the transplantation and decreasing the mortality rate of patients before the transplantation. In this study we briefly reviewed the pathogenesis of HPS and also systematically reviewed the current pharmacological treatment of HPS. Method: Pubmed, Scopus, and Google scholar were searched for the relevant English language clinical and experimental articles about the medications used in the treatment of HPS. Results: A total of 38 articles were included in this study which mostly resulted in decreasing NOS expression, NO production, endothelin-1 activation, intrapulmonary angiogenesis and increasing oxygenation.Conclusion: Various drugs have been proposed in treatment of HPS but more large controlled trial studies, is necessary to determine the exact efficacy of each drugs for HPS recovery.

کلیدواژه ها:

Hepatopulmonary syndrome ، Liver disease ، Pentoxifylline