Reviewer's report
Title:Intrahepatic blood flow assessment by Doppler ultrasonography:
relationship among hepatic vein, portal vein, hepatic artery and portal pressure
intraoperatively measured in patients with portal hypertension
Version: 2Date:21 January 2011
Reviewer: soon koo Baik
Reviewer's report:
The main conclusion of the study is that hepatic vein (HV) waveform changes in
patients with portal hypertension can indicate severity of portal pressure: There
are some limitations as following;
1.Accuracy and Reproducibility
: Accurate measurement with being reproducible is the most crucial in the study
of Doppler ultrasonography. Authors did not state the intra-and inter-observer
variability. Authors should show up the coefficient of variation(calculated by
dividing the standard deviation by mean and multiplying by 100) in terms of
reproducibility. For instance, to evaluate the intraindividual reproducibility, one
must measure the day-to-day variability for at least 5 consecutive days in about
10 subjects. Acceptable coefficient of variation would be approximately 10% in
HV and 5% in PVV according to previous study.
2.Why were HV waveforms measured not in right hepatic vein but in middle
hepatic vein?
: Most of previous studies for hepatic vein abnormalities showed that HV
waveform were measured at right HV because of advantage in terms of accuracy
and reproducibility, rather than middle HV. Authors should clarify this point
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Reviewer's report
Title:Intrahepatic blood flow assessment by Doppler ultrasonography:
relationship among hepatic vein, portal vein, hepatic artery and portal pressure
intraoperatively measured in patients with portal hypertension
Version: 2Date:21 January 2011
Reviewer: soon koo Baik
Reviewer's report:
The main conclusion of the study is that hepatic vein (HV) waveform changes in
patients with portal hypertension can indicate severity of portal pressure: There
are some limitations as following;
1.Accuracy and Reproducibility
: Accurate measurement with being reproducible is the most crucial in the study
of Doppler ultrasonography. Authors did not state the intra-and inter-observer
variability. Authors should show up the coefficient of variation(calculated by
dividing the standard deviation by mean and multiplying by 100) in terms of
reproducibility. For instance, to evaluate the intraindividual reproducibility, one
must measure the day-to-day variability for at least 5 consecutive days in about
10 subjects. Acceptable coefficient of variation would be approximately 10% in
HV and 5% in PVV according to previous study.
2.Why were HV waveforms measured not in right hepatic vein but in middle
hepatic vein?
: Most of previous studies for hepatic vein abnormalities showed that HV
waveform were measured at right HV because of advantage in terms of accuracy
and reproducibility, rather than middle HV. Authors should clarify this point
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
Please review this paper.
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Reviewer's report
Title:Intrahepatic blood flow assessment by Doppler ultrasonography:
relationship among hepatic vein, portal vein, hepatic artery and portal pressure
intraoperatively measured in patients with portal hypertension
Version: 2Date:21 January 2011
Reviewer: soon koo Baik
Reviewer's report:
The main conclusion of the study is that hepatic vein (HV) waveform changes in
patients with portal hypertension can indicate severity of portal pressure: There
are some limitations as following;
1.Accuracy and Reproducibility
: Accurate measurement with being reproducible is the most crucial in the study
of Doppler ultrasonography. Authors did not state the intra-and inter-observer
variability. Authors should show up the coefficient of variation(calculated by
dividing the standard deviation by mean and multiplying by 100) in terms of
reproducibility. For instance, to evaluate the intraindividual reproducibility, one
must measure the day-to-day variability for at least 5 consecutive days in about
10 subjects. Acceptable coefficient of variation would be approximately 10% in
HV and 5% in PVV according to previous study.
2.Why were HV waveforms measured not in right hepatic vein but in middle
hepatic vein?
: Most of previous studies for hepatic vein abnormalities showed that HV
waveform were measured at right HV because of advantage in terms of accuracy
and reproducibility, rather than middle HV. Authors should clarify this point
Level of interest: An article of importance in its field
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
I declare that I have no competing interests
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