Comparison of the diagnostic efficacy between virtual portal pressure gradient and hepatic venous pressure gradient in patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the performance of virtual portal pressure gradient (vPPG) and its associated hemodynamic parameters of 3-dimensional (3D) model in patients with cirrhosis.

Methods: Seventy cirrhotic patients who underwent both hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) measurement and vPPG calculation were prospectively collected. The ideal-state model (ISM; n = 44) was defined by sinusoidal PH without hepatic vein shunt or portal vein thrombosis, whereas those not conforming to the criteria were classified as non-ISM (n = 26). Correlation analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between vPPG or its associated 3D hemodynamic parameters and HVPG. The diagnostic and predictive performance of vPPG and HVPG for cirrhotic-related complications was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and Kaplan-Meier analysis.

Results: In the ISM group, vPPG-associated hemodynamic parameters including total branch cross-sectional area (S2), average branch cross-sectional area (S), and average portal vein model length (h) were correlated with HVPG (r = 0.592, 0.536, -0.497; all p < 0.001), whereas vPPG was strongly correlated with HVPG (r = 0.832, p < 0.001). In the non-ISM group, vPPG, S2, S, and h were not related to HVPG (all p > 0.05). In the ISM group, both vPPG and HVPG showed significant diagnostic and predictive capabilities for cirrhosis-related complications. While in the non-ISM group, the diagnostic accuracy and predictive efficacy of vPPG surpassed those of HVPG.

Conclusion: HVPG exhibited superior diagnostic and predictive efficacy for cirrhotic PH in the ISM, whereas vPPG showed enhanced performance in non-ISM.