Diagnostic Accuracy of Doppler Ultrasonography in Predicting Presence of Esophageal Varices in Patients with Hepatitis-C Induced Cirrhosis

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of Doppler ultrasonography in predicting presence of esophageal varices in patients with hepatitis-C induced cirrhosis. Study Design: Descriptive analytical study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Radiology, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, from May 2016 to October 2016. Methodology: Patients aged 15-70 years, who presented with cirrhosis and proved to be cirrhosis caused by Hepatitis-C of any gender and duration of disease more than 6 months, were included. Patients with hepatocelullar carcinoma or portal vein thrombosis, having received treatment for esophageal varices, and unwilling to undergo endoscopy were excluded. All the patients then underwent Doppler ultrasonography to calculate splenoportal index and findings were correlated with endoscopy findings. Results: Out of 200 patients, 137 (68.50%) were males and 63 (31.50%) were females. In Doppler ultrasonography positive patients, 113 were true positive and 8 were false positive. Overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of Doppler ultrasonography in predicting presence of esophageal varices was 88.98%, 89.04%, 93.00%, 82.28% and 89.00%, respectively. Conclusion: Doppler ultrasonography is the non-invasive modality of choice with high diagnostic accuracy in predicting presence of esophageal varices in hepatitis-C induced cirrhosis.