[Veno-occlusive disease of the liver].

Veno-occlusive disease (VOD) is seen most often in the group of bone marrow transplant recipients. The essence of this disease is the obstruction of the hepatic sinusoidal and centrolobular venous outflow, because of the injury to the endothelium of the liver vessels. It results in congestion of the liver and hepatomegaly. The typical clinical symptoms of VOD are: jaundice, portal hypertension with peripheral oedemas and the weight gain. Depending on the extent of the injury of the hepatic vessels, VOD is divided into three grades: mild, moderate and severe. The clinical markers that inform about the severity of the disease are: the rate of the serum bilirubin growth and the rate of the weight gain growth within the first 2 weeks since the beginning of the disease. Severe VOD is the third of the most often cause of death among people who underwent bone marrow transplantation. The mortality rate is diverse and depends on severity of the disease. The effectiveness of the VOD therapy is limited, so it is worth putting greater pressure on the prophylaxis of VOD or on finding more effective modes of treatment.