Endoscopic clipping for the secondary prophylaxis of bleeding gastric varices in a patient with cirrhosis:A case report

BACKGROUND Bleeding from gastroesophageal varices(GOV)is a serious complication in patients with liver cirrhosis,carrying a very high mortality rate.For secondary prophylaxis against initial and recurrent bleeding,endoscopic therapy is a critical intervention.Endoscopic variceal clipping for secondary prophylaxis in adult GOV has not been reported.CASE SUMMARY A 66-year-old man with cirrhosis was admitted to our hospital complaining of asthenia and hematochezia for 1 wk.His hemoglobin level and red blood cell counts were significantly decreased,and his fecal occult blood test was positive.An enhanced computed tomography of the abdomen showed GOV.The patient was diagnosed with hepatitis B cirrhosis-related GOV bleeding.A series of palliative treatments were administered,resulting in significant clinical improvement.Subsequently,an endoscopic examination revealed severe gastric fundal varices,prompting endoscopic variceal clipping.There were no further episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding.The GOV improved significantly on follow-up imaging and was confirmed as improved on endoscopy at the 5th post-operative month.CONCLUSION Our results suggest that endoscopic clipping is an inexpensive,safe,easy,effective,and tolerable method for the secondary prophylaxis of bleeding from gastric type 2 GOV.However,additional research is indicated to confirm its longterm safety and efficacy.

Prognostic model for esophagogastric variceal rebleeding after endoscopic treatment in liver cirrhosis: A Chinese multicenter study

BACKGROUND Rebleeding after recovery from esophagogastric variceal bleeding(EGVB)is a severe complication that is associated with high rates of both incidence and mortality.Despite its clinical importance,recognized prognostic models that can effectively predict esophagogastric variceal rebleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis are lacking.AIM To construct and externally validate a reliable prognostic model for predicting the occurrence of esophagogastric variceal rebleeding.METHODS This study included 477 EGVB patients across 2 cohorts:The derivation cohort(n=322)and the validation cohort(n=155).The primary outcome was rebleeding events within 1 year.The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator was applied for predictor selection,and multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to construct the prognostic model.Internal validation was performed with bootstrap resampling.We assessed the discrimination,calibration and accuracy of the model,and performed patient risk stratification.RESULTS Six predictors,including albumin and aspartate aminotransferase concentrations,white blood cell count,and the presence of ascites,portal vein thrombosis,and bleeding signs,were selected for the rebleeding event prediction following endoscopic treatment(REPET)model.In predicting rebleeding within 1 year,the REPET model ex-hibited a concordance index of 0.775 and a Brier score of 0.143 in the derivation cohort,alongside 0.862 and 0.127 in the validation cohort.Furthermore,the REPET model revealed a significant difference in rebleeding rates(P<0.01)between low-risk patients and intermediate-to high-risk patients in both cohorts.CONCLUSION We constructed and validated a new prognostic model for variceal rebleeding with excellent predictive per-formance,which will improve the clinical management of rebleeding in EGVB patients.

Endoscopic treatment of esophageal varices in patients with liver cirrhosis

Variceal bleeding is a life-threatening complication of portal hypertension with a six-week mortality rate of approximately 20%. Patients with medium- or largesized varices can be treated for primary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding using two strategies: non-selective beta-blockers(NSBBs) or endoscopic variceal ligation(EVL). Both treatments are equally effective. Patients with acute variceal bleeding are critically ill patients. The available data suggest that vasoactive drugs, combined with endoscopic therapy and antibiotics, are the best treatment strategy with EVL being the endoscopic procedure of choice. In cases of uncontrolled bleeding, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt(TIPS) with polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE)-covered stents are recommended. Approximately 60% of the patients experience rebleeding, with a mortality rate of 30%. Secondary prophylaxis should start on day six following the initial bleeding episode. The combination of NSBBs and EVL is the recommended management, whereas TIPS with PTFE-covered stents are the preferred option in patients who fail endoscopic and pharmacologic treatment. Apart from injection sclerotherapy and EVL, other endoscopic procedures, including tissue adhesives, endoloops, endoscopic clipping and argon plasma coagulation, have been used in the management of esophageal varices. However, their efficacy and safety, compared to standard endoscopic treatment, remain to be further elucidated. There are safety issues accompanying endoscopic techniques with aspiration pneumonia occurring at a rate of approximately 2.5%. In conclusion, future research is needed to improve treatment strategies, including novel endoscopic techniques with better efficacy, lower cost, and fewer adverse events.

Treatment of portal hypertension

Portal hypertension is the main complication of cirrhosis and is defined as an hepatic venous pressure gradient （HVPG） of more than 5 mmHg. Clinically significant portal hypertension is defined as HVPG of 10 mmHg or more. Development of gastroesophageal varices and variceal hemorrhage are the most direct consequence of portal hypertension. Over the last decades significant advancements in the field have led to standard treatment options. These clinical recommendations have evolved mostly as a result of rando.mized controlled trials and consensus conferences among experts where existing evidence has been reviewed and future goals for research and practice guidelines have been pro- posed. Management of varices/variceal hemorrhage is based on the clinical stage of portal hypertension. No specific treatment has shown to prevent the formation of varices. Prevention of first variceal hemorrhage depends on the size/characteristics of varices. In patients with small varices and high risk of bleeding, nonselective β-blockers are recommended, while patients with medium/large varices can be treated with either β-blockers or esophageal band ligation. Standard ofcare for acute variceal hemorrhage consists of vasoacrive drugs, endoscopic band ligation and antibiotics prophylaxis. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt （TIPS） is reserved for those who fail standard of care or for patients who are likely to fail （＂early TIPS＂）. Prevention of recurrent variceal hemorrhage consists of the combination of β-blockers and endoscopic band ligation.

Do statins reduce the mortality rate in stroke patients treated with systemic thrombolysis in a 5-year single-center study?

The present study investigated the association between pre-treatment with a cholesterol-lowering drug(statin) or new setting hereon and the effect on the mortality rate in patients with acute ischemic stroke who received intravenous systemic thrombolysis. During a 5-year period(starting in October 2008), 542 consecutive stroke patients who received intravenous systemic thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator(rt-PA) at the Department of Neurology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Germany, were included. Patients were characterized according to statins. The primary endpoint was mortality;it was assessed twice: in hospital and 3 months after discharge. The secondary outcome was the rate of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage. Of the 542 stroke patients examined(mean age 72 ± 13 years;51% women, mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS) score 11), 138 patients(25.5%) had been pretreated with statin, while in 190 patients(35.1%) statin therapy was initiated during their stay in hospital, whereas 193(35.6%) never received statins. Patients pre-treated with statin were older and more frequently had previous illnesses(arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus and previous cerebral infarctions), but were comparably similarly affected by the stroke(NIHSS 11 vs. 11;P = 0.76) compared to patients who were not on statin treatment at the time of cerebral infarction. Patients pretreated with statin did not differ in 3-month mortality from those newly treated to a statin(7.6% vs. 8%;P = 0.9). Interestingly, the group of patients pretreated with statin showed a lower rate of in hospital mortality(6.6% vs. 17.0;P = 0.005) and 3-month mortality(10.7% vs. 23.7%;P = 0.005) than the group of patients who had no statin treatment at all. The same effect was seen for patients newly adjusted to a statin during the hospital stay compared to patients who did not receive statins(3-month mortality: 7.1% vs. 23.7%;P < 0.001). With a good functional outcome(mRS ≤ 2), 60% of patients were discharged, the majority(69.6%;P < 0.001) of whom received a statin at discharge. The rate of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhages in the course of cranial computed tomography was independent of whether the patients were pretreated with a statin or not(8.8% vs. 8.7%, P = 0.96). Pre-treatment with statin as well as new adjustment could reveal positive effect on prognosis of intravenous thrombolyzed stroke patients. Further investigations are required. The study was approved by the Ethic Committee of the University of Lübeck(approval No. 4-147).

Defining the advantages and exposing the limitations of endoscopic variceal ligation in controlling acute bleeding and achieving complete variceal eradication

BACKGROUND Bleeding esophageal varices(BEV)is a potentially life-threatening complication in patients with portal hypertension with mortality rates as high as 25%within six weeks of the index variceal bleed.After control of the initial bleeding episode patients should enter a long-term surveillance program with endoscopic intervention combined with non-selectiveβ-blockers to prevent further bleeding and eradicate EV.AIM To assess the efficacy of endoscopic variceal ligation(EVL)in controlling acute variceal bleeding,preventing variceal recurrence and rebleeding and achieving complete eradication of esophageal varices(EV)in patients who present with BEV.METHODS A prospectively documented single-center database was used to retrospectively identify all patients with BEV who were treated with EVL between 2000 and 2018.Control of acute bleeding,variceal recurrence,rebleeding,eradication and survival were analyzed using Baveno assessment criteria.RESULTS One hundred and forty patients(100 men,40 women;mean age 50 years;range,21-84 years;Child-Pugh grade A=32;B=48;C=60)underwent 160 emergency and 298 elective EVL interventions during a total of 928 endoscopy sessions.One hundred and fourteen(81%)of the 140 patients had variceal bleeding that was effectively controlled during the index banding procedure and never bled again from EV,while 26(19%)patients had complicated and refractory variceal bleeding.EVL controlled the acute sentinel variceal bleed during the first endoscopic intervention in 134 of 140 patients(95.7%).Six patients required balloon tamponade for control and 4 other patients rebled in hospital.Overall 5-d endoscopic failure to control variceal bleeding was 7.1%(n=10)and four patients required a salvage transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt.Index admission mortality was 14.2%(n=20).EV were completely eradicated in 50 of 111 patients(45%)who survived>3 mo of whom 31 recurred and 3 rebled.Sixteen(13.3%)of 120 surviving patients subsequently had 21 EV rebleeding episodes and 10 patients bled from other sources after discharge from hospital.Overall rebleeding from all sources after 2 years was 21.7%(n=26).Sixty-nine(49.3%)of the 140 patients died,mainly due to liver failure(n=46)during follow-up.Cumulative survival for the 140 patients was 71.4%at 1 year,65%at 3 years,60%at 5 years and 52.1%at 10 years.CONCLUSION EVL was highly effective in controlling the sentinel variceal bleed with an overall 5-day failure to control bleeding of 7.1%.Although repeated EVL achieved complete variceal eradication in less than half of patients with BEV,of whom 62%recurred,there was a significant reduction in subsequent rebleeding.

Hemodynamic effects of propranolol with spironolactone in patients with variceal bleeds: A randomized controlled trial

AIM: To study the hemodynamic effects of spironolactone with propranolol vs propranolol alone in the secondary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding. METHODS: Thirty-five cirrhotics with variceal bleeding randomly received propranolol (n = 17: Group A) or spironolactone plus propranolol (n = 18: Group B). Hemodynamic assessment was performed at baseline and on the eighth day. RESULTS: Spironolactone with propranolol caused a greater reduction in the hepatic venous pressure gradient than propranolol alone (26.94% vs 10.2%; P < 0.01). Fourteen out of eighteen patients on the combination treatment had a reduction in hepatic venous pressure gradient to ≤ 12 mmHg or a 20% reduction from baseline in contrast to only six out of seventeen (6/17) on propranolol alone (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Spironolactone with propranolol results in a better response with a greater reduction in hepatic venous pressure gradient in the secondary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding. A greater number of patients may be protected by this combination therapy than by propranolol alone. Hence, this combination may be recommended for secondary prophylaxis in patients with variceal bleeding.