BACKGROUND The outcome of sclerotherapy for bleeding oesophageal varices may be influenced by injection technique. In a previous study at our institution, sclerotherapy was associated with a high re-bleeding rate and oesophageal ulceration. Embolisation of the injection tract was introduced in an attempt to reduce injection-related complications. METHODS To determine the outcome and effective...

BACKGROUND Variceal bleeding is a frequent cause of death in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Over the past 40 years a number of new techniques have been introduced to control active variceal haemorrhage. Many randomised controlled trials were performed to evaluate these new therapies. While most have demonstrated efficacy in controlling haemorrhage few showed improved survival....

Background—Few studies have compared vasoactive drugs with endoscopic sclerotherapy in the control of acute variceal haemorrhage. Octreotide is widely used for this purpose, but its value remains undetermined. Aims—To compare octreotide with endoscopic sclerotherapy for acute variceal haemorrhage. Patients—Consecutive patients with acute variceal haemorrhage. Methods—Patients were randomised at...

BACKGROUND Endoscopic variceal ligation and somatostatin are widely used for treating acute esophageal variceal bleeding. This study compared the efficacy, safety, and survival of both therapies. METHODS Acute esophageal variceal bleeding patients were randomized to undergo emergency ligation or receive a bolus of 250 microg somatostatin plus infusion at 250 microg/hour for 48 hours and under...

BACKGROUND Few studies have compared vasoactive drugs with endoscopic sclerotherapy in the control of acute variceal haemorrhage. Octreotide is widely used for this purpose, but its value remains undetermined. AIMS To compare octreotide with endoscopic sclerotherapy for acute variceal haemorrhage. PATIENTS Consecutive patients with acute variceal haemorrhage. METHODS Patients were randomi...

We read with interest your recently published review by Cardénas and Ginès on patients with cirrhosis, awaiting liver transplantation, with an emphasis on the high morbidity and mortality with variceal bleeding. Such patients may require a transoesophageal echocardiogram (TOE) to assess cardiorespiratory abnormalities potentially precluding a transplant, as well as for intraoperative haemodynam...

BACKGROUND & AIM This study assessed the involvement of metabolic factors (anthropometric indices, insulin resistance (IR) and adipocytokines) in the prediction of portal hypertension, esophageal varices and risk of variceal bleeding in cirrhotic patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS Two prospective and retrospective cohorts of cirrhotic patients were selected (n = 357). The first prospective cohort...

Prognosis of 16 patients with hepatic tumors and angiographically proven arterioportal fistulas was analysed in relation to treatment. Six patients received only conservative therapy; they all died of variceal bleeding in the course of two months after angiography. Hepatic resection was performed in four patients; three of them are still alive 13-52 months later including two free of both the t...

Sclerotherapy and endoscopic esophageal variceal ligation (EVL) are commonly used to treat and prevent variceal bleeding. As of today, there has been no report on an unexpected incarceration of a varix hooked on with the bands from the endoscopic EVL device. We recently experienced this emergency while using the 7-band ring endoscopic EVL device (Boston Scientific Corp., Boston, MA) for prophyl...

A 53-year-old male patient with a history of hepatocellular carcinoma developed gastroesophageal varices refractory to endoscopic injection sclerotherapy (EIS). He required EIS six times in 2 years for recurring variceal bleeding. After hepatic resection, he developed massive splenomegaly. Partial splenic embolization (PSE) was performed to reduce the portal pressure. Varices and variceal bleed...