Abstract: Objective To investigate the features of liver cirrhosis in Tibetan minority. Method Two-hundred and seventy patients with liver cirrhosis were enrolled in this study. The color Doppler ultrasonography was conducted for diagnosis,and the liver and spleen stiffness measurement were carried out by Fibroscan. Serum hepatitis B and C viral makers were detected by ELISA,and electronic gastroscopy was applied to evaluate the esophageal and gastric varices （EGV）. Results Out of 270 patients with liver cirrhosis,192（71.1%） were found having EGV,and 106（39.3%） of them had red sign;the etiologic causes included hepatitis B in 141,hepatitis C in 29,primary biliary cirrhosis in 39,alcoholic in 37 and autoimmune hepatitis in 24;the differences in liver and spleen stiffness measurement among different etiologic cirrhosis were not significant（P>0.05） and the liver and spleen stiffness measurement in 96 Child-Pugh class C were significantly higher than in 68 class B（P<0.05） or 106 Child-Pugh class A（P<0.05）;the degree of EGV was positively correlated to hepatic fibrosis staging（r=0.8539,P=0.0001）,and the spleen stiffness measurement was （41.2±19.3） kPa,while it was（23.5±15.0） kPa in liver stiffness measurement,which positively correlated to each other（r=0.8539,P=0.0001）. Conclusion The etiologic distribution of Tibetan patients with liver hardness is not different from other nationality based on our materials,and the liver and spleen stiffness measurement increase as Child-Pugh class deteriorate. The degree of liver fibrosis is positively related to the degree of esophageal and gastric varices. Therefore,the patients with severe EGV is at risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Key words: Liver fibrosis, Esophageal-gastric varices, Liver transient elasticity, Tibetan