Impact of Propranolol on Preventing Renal Dysfunction in Patients with Cirrhosis

One of the earliest diagnostic signs of hepatorenal syndrome in patients suffering from liver cirrhosis is an increase in the renal vascular resistive index (RI). In this study, the impact of propranolol on decreasing this index and to postpone the probability of hepatorenal syndrome has been investigated.
In the current research, 30 patients with liver cirrhosis with different age and sexes have been enrolled. Demographic data and complete medical history have been collected using a specific questionnaire. At first, renal artery Doppler ultrasonography was performed to determine the RI. The patients were then treated with propranolol, and under supervision, the dose of the drug was increased gradually every 3 to 5 days to reach the target of 25% decrease in resting heart rate. One month after reaching the target dose of the medicine, Doppler ultrasonography was repeated for the patients and the second RI was compared with the pretreatment ones.
According to our results after treatment with propranolol, a significant decrease of RI was observed (pPropranolol reduces renal vascular RI in patients with cirrhosis. The response rates in the patients with decompensating cirrhosis were significantly higher than the patients with compensating cirrhosis.