Hepatopulmonary syndrome: Report of one case

Hepatopulmonary syndrome consists of a triad of chronic liver disease, hypoxemia, and intrapulmonary vascular dilatation in the absence of primary cardiac or pulmonary diseases. Though this complication has been described in as many as 4-29% of patients with liver disease, its clinical manifestations are often subclinical. The standard diagnostic tests for hepatopulmonary syndrome are the applications of contrast echocardiography and ^99mTc lung perfusion scan. In this report, we describe a 19-year-old female with biliary atresia and subsequent liver cirrhosis, who also had the complication of hepatopulmonary syndrome since adolescence. We conclude when the symptoms and signs of hypoxemia appear in a patient with chronic liver disease, the differential diagnosis of hepatopulmonary syndrome should be kept in mind.