Scandinavian journal of clinical and laboratory investigation
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Scand. J. Clin. Lab. Invest. · Oct 1985
Interstitial fluid volume, plasma volume and transcapillary colloid osmotic gradient in patients with hepatic cirrhosis and fluid retention.
Colloid osmotic pressure in plasma (IIp) and in subcutaneous interstitial fluid (IIi) (wick technique), plasma volume (PV) and interstitial fluid volume (IFV) were measured in 12 patients with hepatic cirrhosis and fluid retention. The value of IIp (mean +/- SD) was 21.4 +/- 4.2 mmHg (28.6 +/- 3.4 mmHg in normal subjects (p less than 0.01)), mean IIi was 8.6 +/- 2.2 mmHg (15.8 +/- 2.7 mmHg in normal subjects (p less than 0.01)) and mean transcapillary colloid osmotic gradient (IIp-IIi) was 12.7 +/- 3.8 mmHg compared to 12.8 +/- 2.7 mmHg in normal subjects (p greater than 0.1). ⋯ The reduction in IIi can partly be explained by simple dilution and partly by a decrease in interstitial protein mass. The wash-down of interstitial proteins in non-splanchnic tissues reduces the tendency to oedema and hypovolaemia.