scholarly journals Prevention and Management of Variceal Hemorrhage

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Hyun Kim ◽  
Jun Yong Park

Variceal hemorrhage is a common and devastating complication of portal hypertension and is a leading cause of death in patients with cirrhosis. The management of gastroesophageal varices has evolved over the last decade resulting in improved mortality and morbidity rates. Regarding the primary prevention of variceal hemorrhaging, nonselectiveβ-blockers should be the first-line therapy in all patients with medium to large varices and in patients with small varices associated with high-risk features such as red wale marks and/or advanced cirrhosis. EVL should be offered in cases of intolerance or side effects toβ-blockers, or for patients at high-risk for variceal bleeding who have medium or large varices with red wale marks or advanced liver cirrhosis. In acute bleeding, vasoactive agents should be initiated along with antibiotics followed by EVL or endoscopic sclerotherapy (if EVL is technically difficult) within the first 12 hours of presentation. Where available, terlipressin is the preferred agent because of its safety profile and it represents the only drug with a proven efficacy in improving survival. All patients surviving an episode of bleeding should undergo further prophylaxis to prevent rebleeding with EVL and nonselectiveβ-blockers.

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-286
Author(s):  
Tamara Alempijevic ◽  
Ana Balovic ◽  
Aleksandra Pavlovic-Markovic ◽  
Dino Tarabar ◽  
Miodrag Krstic ◽  
...  

Introduction. Bleeding from esophageal varices is a serious medical problem because of the risk of recurrent bleeding and high mortality rate (17-54%). Gastroesophageal varices develop in 50% of cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension, but can also develop in other pre- or post-hepatic causes of portal hypertension. Case report. We reported a 48-year-old female patient with portal hypertension caused by mesenterial vein thrombosis due to congenital thrombophilia. The patient was hospitalized several times because of recurrent gastroesophageal bleeding. Thrombosis of portal, lienal and mesenteric veins was diagnosed using multislice computed tomography (MSCT) angiography. Sclerotherapy and/or variceal ligation could not be used due to variceal size and distribution. Beta blockers were ineffective. Balloon tamponade and octreotide were used in each massive bleeding episode. Carvedilol therapy was introduced but rebleeding occured. Surgical treatment was considered a high risk procedure due to massive thrombosis of mesenterial veins, patient's general condition and high risk of postoperative thrombotic events. Thus, long-acting somatostatin analogue - Sandostatin? LAR was initiated at a dose of 30 mg im/month. The patient responded to the therapy well and variceal bleeding did not occur for the following 3 months. After 3 months another episode of gastric variceal hemorrhage occurred and surgical treatment was reconsidered. Total gastrectomy was performed in order to prevent repeated bleeding from large gastric varices and the patient recovered successfully, and after 1 year is symptom-free. Conclusion. Long-lasting somatostatin analogue was used for the first time in treatment of gastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage in the patient with prehepatic portal hyperten-sion. It was effective as temporary therapeutic option allowing the improvement of the patients general condition and adequate planning of elective surgical procedure. Futher reports are needed in order to compare efficacy in treatment of patients with variceal bleeding, where poor outcome is expected.


HPB Surgery ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gongliang Jin ◽  
Layton F. Rikkers

Since its introduction into clinical practice in 1967, selective variceal decompression by means of a distal splenorenal shunt (DSRS) has become one of the more commonly performed portal-systemic shunting procedures in the treatment of variceal hemorrhage throughout the world. In addition to selective decompression of gastroesophageal varices, the DSRS provides the advantages of preservation of portal perfusion of the liver and maintenance of intestinal venous hypertension. Many large, uncontrolled series and the majority of controlled randomized studies have demonstrated a lower incidence of encephalopathy after the DSRS than after nonselective shunt procedures. A secondary advantage of the DSRS is that the hepatic hilum is avoided, thus making subsequent liver transplantation a less formidable procedure. None of the studies have shown an advantage to this shunt with respect to longterm survival in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis. However, some of the large, uncontrolled series have shown that survival is significantly improved in patients with non-alcoholic cirrhosis compared to nonselective shunt procedures in the same population. Controlled trials comparing the DSRS to endoscopic sclerotherapy have shown that chronic endoscopic variceal sclerosis is an appropriate initial therapy for most patients as long as shunt surgery is readily available if sclerotherapy fails.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 1297-1316
Author(s):  
O.N. Terent'eva

Subject. The stable supply of food to people is a cornerstone for the national economic security, while a lack of food or its expensiveness may undermine the economy, principles of power, and cause panics and wars. Malnutrition and hunger are critical indicators of the insufficient foods supply. Objectives. The article indicates which countries have high risk of hunger, and predicts its further movement. I also evaluate factual trends in the availability of food across countries. Methods. The study refers to statistical data in public domain, including the FAOSTAT. I apply methods of ranking, abstraction, prediction. Results. I performed the cross-country analysis and discovered that 117 countries demonstrated signs of malnutrition. The article sets forth a technique for splitting countries into five groups by level of hunger risk. The article compares data on hunger in the countries and consequences of mortality and morbidity. I ranked countries by key types of agricultural products and explained their production growth rates for a span of 18 years. I predicted how countries would be ranked in terms of hunger from 2030 to 2050, and found the extent to which the hunger risk will escalate in more flourishing countries. Conclusions and Relevance. Hunger and shortage of food seem invincible in the countries where people are hungry or very hungry. Sometimes it appears almost impossible for respective governments to solve the issue. Triggering the systemic hunger, such factors and premises are beyond control of starving countries. Hence, the international community should provide their support and aid to them.


2021 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Oanez Ackermann ◽  
Paul de Boissieu ◽  
Olivier Bernard ◽  
Emmanuel Gonzalès ◽  
Emmanuel Jacquemin ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Hasegawa ◽  
Hiroki Nihiwaki ◽  
Erika Ota ◽  
William Levack ◽  
Hisashi Noma

Abstract Background and Aims Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing dialysis are at a particularly high risk of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the benefits and harms of aldosterone antagonists, both non-selective (spironolactone) and selective (eplerenone), in comparison to control (placebo or standard care) in patients with CKD requiring haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. Method We searched the Cochrane Kidney and Transplant Register of Studies up to 29 July 2019 using search terms relevant to this review. Studies in the Register are identified through searches of CENTRAL, MEDLINE, and EMBASE, conference proceedings, the International Clinical Trials Register Search Portal and ClinicalTrials.gov. We included individual and cluster randomised controlled trials (RCTs), cross-over trials, and quasi-RCTs that compared aldosterone antagonists with placebo or standard care in patients with CKD requiring dialysis. We used a random-effects model meta-analysis to perform a quantitative synthesis of the data. We used the I2 statistic to measure heterogeneity among the trials in each analysis. We indicated summary estimates as a risk ratio (RR) for dichotomous outcomes with their 95% confidence interval (CI). We assessed the certainty of the evidence for each of the main outcomes using the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) approach. Results We included 16 trials (14 parallel RCTs and two cross-over trials) involving a total of 1,446 patients. Among included studies, 13 trials compared spironolactone to placebo or standard care and one trial compared eplerenone to a placebo. Most studies had an unclear or high risk of bias. Compared to control, aldosterone antagonists reduced the risk of all-cause death for patients with CKD requiring dialysis (9 trials, 1,119 patients: RR 0.45, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.67; moderate certainty of evidence). Aldosterone antagonist also decreased the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease (6 trials, 908 patients: RR 0.37, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.64; moderate certainty of evidence) and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular morbidity (3 trials, 328 patients: RR 0.38, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.76; moderate certainty of evidence). While aldosterone antagonists had an apparent increased risk of gynaecomastia compared with control (4 trials, 768 patients: RR 5.95, 95% CI 1.93 to 18.3; moderate certainty of evidence), the elevated risk of hyperkalaemia due to aldosterone antagonists was uncertain (9 trials, 981 patients: RR 1.41, 95% CI 0.72 to 2.78; low certainty of evidence). Conclusion Based on moderate certainty of the evidence, aldosterone antagonists could reduce the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular death and morbidity due to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease but increase the risk of gynaecomastia in patients with CKD requiring dialysis.


2016 ◽  
Vol 98 (8) ◽  
pp. 554-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Mak ◽  
AR Hakeem ◽  
V Chitre

BACKGROUND Following evidence suggestive of high mortality following emergency laparotomies, the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) was set up, highlighting key standards in emergency service provision. Our aim was to compare our NHS trust’s adherence to these recommendations immediately prior to, and following, the launch of NELA, and to compare patient outcome. METHODS This was a retrospective study of patients who underwent an emergency laparotomy over the course of 6 months – 3 months either side of the initiation of NELA. RESULTS There were 44 patients before the initiation of NELA (pre-NELA, PN group) and 55 in the first 3 months of NELA (N group). We saw a significant increase in the proportion of patients whose decision to operate was made by the consultant: 75.0% in the PN group vs 100% in N group (subsequent data presented in this order) (P < 0.001). The presence of a consultant surgeon (75.0% vs 83.6%, P = 0.321) and anaesthetist (100.0% vs 90.9%, P = 0.064) in theatres were comparable in both groups. Risk stratification based on Portsmouth Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the enUmeration of Mortality and Morbidity (P-POSSUM) score showed no difference in high-risk patients in both groups (47.7% vs 36.4%, P = 0.306). With the NELA initiative, however, significantly more patients were admitted directly from theatres to the critical care unit, when compared with the pre-NELA period (9.1% vs 27.3%, P = 0.038). This also reflected a significant reduction in unexpected escalation to a higher level of care during this period (10.0% vs 0%, P = 0.036). Significantly more patients had uneventful recovery in the NELA period (52.3 vs 76.4%, P = 0.018), although there was no difference in 30-day mortality between the groups (2.3% vs 7.3%, P = 0.378). CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated a greater degree of consultant involvement in the decision to operate during NELA. More high-risk patients have been identified preoperatively with diligent risk assessment and, hence, have been proactively admitted to critical care units following laparotomy, which may account for the significant reduction in unexpected escalation to level 2 or level 3 care and thus in overall better patient outcomes.


Author(s):  
Sienny Linawaty ◽  
JB. Suparyatmo ◽  
Tahono Tahono

Coronary Artery Disease has a high prevalence and is frequently occurred and associated with the high mortality and morbidity. Dyslipidemia is one of the risk factors of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). ApoB contained in very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), intermediate-density lipoproteins (IDL), LDL and small dense LDL (sd-LDL), with one molecule of apoB in each particle. Apo A-I is the major apolipoprotein in HDL particles. The ratio of apoB/apoA-I is a balance between apoB-containing particles and potentially atherogenic apoA-I that is antiaterogenik. This study is carried to know the determination whether there are differences between apoB/ apoA-I ratio in patients dyslipidemia with ACS and non ACS. The research used a cross-sectional study design with patients dyslipidemia subjects suffering Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and non ACS who enter to the Laboratory of Pathology Clinic at Dr. Moewardi Hospital between July and November 2011. To determine the pattern of data distribution, the researchers used Kolmogorov Smirnov test. For the analysis of differences in mean apoB/apoA-I ratio in the two population groups is used the T test, using a computer program, with the significance level p<0.05, 95% confidence interval. From 74 samples examined the mean age is 56.42 year old. This patients consisted of 33 males (44.6%) and 41 women (55.4%). All subjects are grouped into two groups, dyslipidemia ACS and non dyslipidemia ACS. The results showed apoB/apoA-I ratio significantly different in patients with dyslipidemia with ACS and non ACS. The mean apoB/apoA-I ratio of women and men subjects in both groups, including groups at high risk of myocardial myokard and higher than the cut-off ratio of apoB/ apoA-I (men 0.9 and women 0.8). It can be concluded that the apoB/apoA-I ratio of women and men subjects in both groups, included the high risk category for infarct myokard although lipid abnormalities are still not demonstrated to the risk of infarct myokard.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 988
Author(s):  
Haitham A. Saimeh

Fecal impaction is an important cause of lower gastrointestinal tract obstruction and carries high risk of mortality and morbidity, it is highly emphasized to early identify it to minimize any risk of complication. Recurrence is common, therefore preventive modalities as increasing the dietary fiber content to 30 gm/day, water intake, or discontinuation of medications that contribute to colon hypomotility. In this paper, I am pointing off the early recognition and treatment of fecal impaction to avoid lethal complications, therefore physicians should have higher level of suspicions because if fecal impaction goes unrecognized this will lead to fatal morbidity and mortality.


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