Background: Doppler echocardiography (Echo) is a non-invasive method of excellent accuracy to screen portopulmonary hypertension (PPH) and to assess intrapulmonary shunts (IPS) in chronic liver disease (CLD). In the past decade, Echo proved to play a fundamental role in the diagnosis of cirrhotic cardiomyopathy (CCM).
Objective: To perform a systematic review of relevant articles on the subject 'Echo in CLD'.
Methods: In November 2011, a systematic review was performed in the PubMed, LILACS and SciELO databases, and the characteristics of the studies selected were reported.
Results: The search based on descriptors and free terms obtained 204 articles (179 in Pubmed, 21 in LILACS, and 1 in SciELO). Of those 204 articles, 22 were selected for systematic review. A meta-analysis could not be performed because of the heterogeneity of the articles.
Conclusions: Echo should be part of CLD stratification for screening PPH, IPS and CCM, because, most of the time, such complications are diagnosed only when patients are already waiting for a liver transplant.