Innovations in endoscopic ultrasound for portal hypertension and its role in managing complications in clinical practice:Lessons learned from a tertiary referral public hospital

Portal hypertension(PH)poses significant challenges.This paper presents an innovative study on the utilization of endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)for both the diagnosis and management of PH.Conducted at Dr.Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital in Jakarta,this retrospective case series included patients diagnosed with PH through clinical examination,imaging evaluation,and esophagogastroduodenoscopy.Exclusion criteria comprised a history of reduced blood consumption within the last 5 days,hepatocellular carcinoma,massive ascites,or elevated international normalized ratio(>1.4).EUS-guided portal pressure gradient(PPG)measurements were performed using an innovative standard manometer.The study involved 15 patients,with 14 having liver cirrhosis and 1 diagnosed with Budd–Chiari syndrome.Among them,nine patients experienced bleeding due to gastroesophageal varices.Small and large esophageal varices were identified in four and eight patients,respectively.Gastroesophageal varices type 1 were observed in two patients,and type 2 in four patients.Isolated gastric fundal varices type 1 were present in one patient.Based on EUS-PPG measurements,14 patients exhibited clinically significant portal hypertension.Seven patients underwent endoscopic band ligation and three underwent EUS-guided cyanoacrylate injection during the same session as the EUS-PPG measurement procedure.Notably,no adverse events,such as abdominal pain,perforation,or bleeding were observed during or after the procedure.EUS emerges as a promising and accurate tool for both diagnosis and management.

Impact of endoscopic ultrasound examination for deep esophageal collateral veins evaluation in liver cirrhosis patients prior to endoscopic treatment:A case series

Aim:The presence of esophageal collateral veins(ECV)has been reported to be associated with the recurrence of esophageal varices(EV)and bleeding in liver cirrhotic(LC)patients.This study aimed to see the potential clinical value of deep collateral veins assessment using endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)in liver cirrhotic patients with EV.Methods:During 6 months period,a prospective study is conducted,where we identified LC patients who were admitted for esophagogastroduodenoscopy(EGD)screening at the Department of Internal Medicine,Dr.Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital,Jakarta.ECV was examined using EUS.Patients were excluded if they had(1)liver malignancy,(2)history of ligation or glue injection,or(3)portal or splenic vein thrombus.We collected demographic data,medical history,data pertaining to use of nonselective beta blocker(NSBB),and laboratory,imaging,and endoscopy results.EGD was performed using a gastroscope(EG29‐i10,3.2 mm Pentax Medical)while EUS was performed using a linear array echoendoscope(EG‐3870UTK,3.8 mm,Pentax Medical)before band ligation or glue injection.Results:There were 20 LC patients included in this study,where 15(75%)of patients were classified with Child-Pugh(CP)‐A and five(25%)of patients with CP‐B.The most common aetiologies were hepatitis B in seven(35%)patients and hepatitis C in nine(45%)patients.The EV with peri‐or para‐esophageal veins(PEEV or PAEV)were detected in 65%of patients.None of the LC patients with no EV showed the presence of ECV.PEEV or PAEV were detected in grades 1-3 EV.Conclusion:EUS examination can give a better evaluation before managing gastroesophageal varices through deep ECV detection in LC patients.