The Clinical Significance of Mosaic-Like Pattern in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis

Kim, Jin Bong; Kim, Dong Joon; Oh, Soon Ok; Moon, Sang Ho; Kim, Sung Jung; Baik, Gwang Ho; Chang, Woong Ki; Lee, Jin; Lee, Myeng Seok; Kim, Hak Yang; Park, Choong Kee; Yoo, Jae Young

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Mosaic-like pattern (MLP), one of the elementary lesions of portal hypertensive gastropathy, is common in patients with liver cirrhosis. The aim of this study was to examine the association between the severity/location of MLP and severity of the liver disease. METHODS: We carried out 177 endoscopic examinations in 139 cirrhotic patients and examined the severity of MLP on the basis of the New Italian Endoscopy Club classification. Additionally, we classified the MLP according to its location. Then, the association between severity/location of MLP and Child-Pugh classification was investigated. RESULTS: Child class A, B, and C were observed in 82, 57, and 38 cases, respectively. Severity grades of MLP of none, mild, moderate, and severe were observed in 4.5%, 70.1%, 21.5%, 4.5% of the 177 examinations, respectively. The location of MLP in the high body, mid-body, low body, and antrum was confirmed in 3.6%, 38.1%, 36.9%, and 16.7% of the cases, respectively. MLP was not observed in 4.8% of the cases. The severity and location of MLP revealed statistically significant correlation with the Child-Pugh classification (p=0.001/0.000, respectively). Moreover, the severity and location of MLP were also correlated each other (p=0.000). CONCLUSIONS: Not only the severity but also the location of MLP has a strong correlation with the severity of liver cirrhosis. As the liver function deteriorates, the location of MLP tends to extend toward the antrum from the high body.