Normal Main Portal Vein Diameter - Is the Upper Limit Of 13 Mm Low?

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to compare the normal main portal vein diameter measured in computed tomography with the commonly used upper limit value. Materials and Method: Computed tomography examinations performed between March 2015 and April 2018 in our department were scanned from the archive system. Mean portal vein diameters were measured onaxial contrast-enhanced and non-enhanced abdominal CT scans of the patients without any known disease. Results: 500 main portal vein measurements were performed from 276 individuals. In the non-enhanced images (n = 243), the mean diameter of main portal vein was 15.03 ± 1.72 mm and in the post-contrast enhanced images (n = 257) the mean diameter of the main portal vein was 15,05 ± 1.71 mm. These values showed a significant difference from the widely accepted upper limit of 13 mm (95% confidence interval for non-enhanced images: 1.81-2.25 mm higher, p