Background: Chronic liver disease is characterized by progressive hepatic fibrosis and changes in hepatic vascular hemodynamics. Sonography is a readily available tool in the assessment of the hepatic hemodynamic alterations that occur in chronic liver diseases. Aim: This study was aimed at sonographically determining the portal vein indices in apparently healthy adults by estimating the portal vein diameter, cross-sectional area, and portal vein velocity. Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional study carried out among 62 apparently healthy individuals. The participants underwent gray scale and Doppler ultrasonographic examinations of the portal vein. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) IBM Corp. version 23.0 (Armonk, NY: USA). The comparison of means of two groups was with the unpaired t -test, and level of significance was set at 5% ( P < 0.05). Results: Forty-six (74.2%) of the 62 participants recruited were male and 16 (25.8%) were female. Participants were aged 18–65 years with a mean age of 39.90 ± 10.34 years. The means of portal vein diameter, cross-sectional area, and portal vein velocity are 1.15 ± 0.12 cm, 0.88 ± 0.18 cm 2 , and 18.37 ± 2.04 cm/s, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference of all portal vein ultrasound parameters between males and females, except portal vein flow velocity which was higher in males, t -test = 2.273 and P = 0.027 (>0.05). There was no significant correlation between age and ultrasound parameters P > 0.05. Conclusion: The normal values of portal vein diameter, cross-sectional area, and portal vein velocity were established.

Background: Prostate diseases commonly present with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) resulting from prostatic enlargement. Prostate volume (PV) can be evaluated using transabdominal ultrasonography. Focus is currently on relative factors of prostatic enlargement which includes obesity and central adiposity. The aim of this study is to correlate transabdominal sonographic PV and anthropometric parameters in patients with LUTS in Port Harcourt. Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study carried out at the Radiology Department, Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, between September 2020 and January 2021. One hundred and twenty (120) males from 40 years and above who presented with LUTS were recruited. Transabdominal PV estimation was done and body mass index (BMI) as well as WC was assessed. Data were analyzed using a Statistical Package for Social Sciences; appropriate statistical tests were applied and P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean PV was 69.8 ± 63.5 cm 3 , 79.2% of the subjects had enlarged prostate with volume ≥30 cm 3 . PV was found to increase with age. The correlation between PV and anthropometric measures of obesity (BMI and WC) was statistically not significant. Conclusion: The work established that there is no correlation between PV and anthropometric measures of obesity – BMI and WC in negro population as opposed to nonblack population where there is correlation. Obesity may not be a considerable risk factor of prostatic enlargement in the studied population. Thus, anthropometrics may not be useful in predicting prostate size.

Background: Sonography is a useful tool in the study of the hepatic haemodynamic alterations that occur in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection using the portal vein congestion index (PVCI). The study was aimed at sonographically assessing the portal vein congestion index in adults with chronic HBV infection and at comparing the same with apparently healthy adults. Methods: This was a comparative, cross-sectional study carried out amongst 124 subjects (62 chronic HBV patients and 62 uninfected, apparently healthy individuals). The participants underwent routine grey scale evaluation of the liver, Doppler ultrasonographic evaluation of the portal vein and the ratio of the portal vein cross-sectional area in centimetre square to the portal vein velocity in centimetre per second. Results: In healthy controls, the mean PVCI was 0.048±0.010 cm, while the mean PVCI in chronic HBV patients was 0.077±0.028 cm (P< 0.001). The mean of duration of illness was 3.63 years with a range of 0.5–15. There was a weak negative correlation between PVCI and duration of illness (r = −0.130, P = 0.313). Conclusions: The PVCI was significantly higher in chronic HBV patients compared to healthy subjects. However, there was a weak correlation between PVCI and duration of illness in patients with chronic HBV.

No abstract