Bacterial translocation and cardiovascular complications of cirrhosis.

We read with interest the recent review on cardiovascular complications of cirrhosis by Moller and Henriksen ( Gut 2008; 57 :268). We would like to add to their overview what we believe to be one of the major contributors to cardiovascular derangement in cirrhosis—that is, bacterial translocation,1 as this was not mentioned by them. Bacterial translocation leads to the presence of bacteria, endotoxins and cytokines in the systemic circulation, thus enhancing nitric oxide production.2 …