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

Background: The recurrent variceal bleeding is still very high with a very poor prognosis. The combination of a non-selective beta-blocker and endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) is still a standard therapy for the prevention, but many patients showed no response to propranolol. Carvedilol is a new, non-selective beta-blocker having intrinsic alpha-blocker activity, but the data about the efficacy and safety of carvedilol is still very limited. This study is aimed at assessing the efficacy and safety of carvedilol combined with EVL in the prevention of recurrent variceal bleeding. Patients and methods: 33 patients having variceal bleeding were enrolled. All patients received carvedilol and were performed the EVL until variceal eradication. All the patients were followed after 9 months. Results: rate of variceal eradication of oesophageal varices was 87.88%; the recurrence rate of variceal bleeding was 12.12% after 9 months. The side effects of carvedilol were rare and not severe, including vertiges, headache, and orthostatic hypertension. Conclusion: Carvedilol combined with EVL appeared as a relatively safe and effective in the prevention of recurrent variceal bleeding in patients of cirrhosis. Key words: carvedilol, variceal bleeding, EVL

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Transfusion with Cryoprecipitate for Very Low Fibrinogen Levels Does Not Affect Bleeding or Survival in Critically Ill Cirrhosis Patients

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/a-1355-3716 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Isadore Budnick ◽

Jessica Davis ◽

Anirudh Sundararaghavan ◽

Samuel Konkol ◽

Chelsea Lau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Disease Severity ◽

Critically Ill ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Severity Of Illness ◽

Meld Score ◽

Independent Effect ◽

Bleeding Complications ◽

Bleeding Events ◽

Acute Bleeding ◽

Transplant Center

Background: Fibrinogen (FIB) levels less than 150 mg/dL have been associated with increased rates of bleeding and lower survival in critically ill cirrhosis patients. Objective: We aimed to determine if treatment with cryoprecipitate (CRYO) for low FIB levels were associated with bleeding complications or survival. Patients / Methods: 237 cirrhosis patients admitted to an intensive care unit at a tertiary care liver transplant center with initial FIB levels less than 150 mg/dL were retrospectively assessed for CRYO transfusion, bleeding events, and survival outcomes. Results: The mean MELD score was 27.2 (95% CI 26.0 - 28.3) and CLIF-C Acute on Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF) score was 53.4 (51.9 - 54.8). Ninety-nine (41.8%) were admitted for acute bleeding and the remainder were admitted for non-bleeding illnesses. FIB level on admission correlated strongly with disease severity. After adjusting for disease severity, FIB on admission was not an independent predictor of 30-day survival (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.99 - 1.01, p = 0.68). CRYO transfusion increased FIB levels but had no independent effect on mortality or bleeding complications (HR 1.10, 95% CI 0.72 - 1.70, p = 0.65). Conclusions: In cirrhosis patients with critical illness, low FIB levels on presentation reflect severity of illness but are not independently associated with 30-day mortality. Treatment of low FIB with CRYO also does not affect survival or bleeding complications suggesting FIB is an additional marker of severity of illness but is not itself a direct factor in the pathophysiology of bleeding in critically ill cirrhosis patients.

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Red Blood Cell Transfusion in the Emergency Department: An Observational Cross-Sectional Multicenter Study

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10112475 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 2475

Author(s):

Olivier Peyrony ◽

Danaé Gamelon ◽

Romain Brune ◽

Anthony Chauvin ◽

Daniel Aiham Ghazali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emergency Department ◽

Logistic Regression ◽

Blood Cell ◽

Red Blood Cell ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Red Blood Cell Transfusion ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Acute Bleeding ◽

History Of ◽

Rbc Transfusion

Background: We aimed to describe red blood cell (RBC) transfusions in the emergency department (ED) with a particular focus on the hemoglobin (Hb) level thresholds that are used in this setting. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 12 EDs including all adult patients that received RBC transfusion in January and February 2018. Descriptive statistics were reported. Logistic regression was performed to assess variables that were independently associated with a pre-transfusion Hb level ≥ 8 g/dL. Results: During the study period, 529 patients received RBC transfusion. The median age was 74 (59–85) years. The patients had a history of cancer or hematological disease in 185 (35.2%) cases. Acute bleeding was observed in the ED for 242 (44.7%) patients, among which 145 (59.9%) were gastrointestinal. Anemia was chronic in 191 (40.2%) cases, mostly due to vitamin or iron deficiency or to malignancy with transfusion support. Pre-transfusion Hb level was 6.9 (6.0–7.8) g/dL. The transfusion motive was not notified in the medical chart in 206 (38.9%) cases. In the multivariable logistic regression, variables that were associated with a higher pre-transfusion Hb level (≥8 g/dL) were a history of coronary artery disease (OR: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.29–3.41), the presence of acute bleeding (OR: 2.44; 95% CI: 1.53–3.94), and older age (OR: 1.02/year; 95% CI: 1.01–1.04). Conclusion: RBC transfusion in the ED was an everyday concern and involved patients with heterogeneous medical situations and severity. Pre-transfusion Hb level was rather restrictive. Almost half of transfusions were provided because of acute bleeding which was associated with a higher Hb threshold.

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Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration of Gastric Varices using Sodium Tetradecyl Sulphate: Technical Considerations and Results from a Single Institution Retrospective Study

Journal of Clinical Interventional Radiology ISVIR ◽

10.1055/s-0041-1728998 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Pushpinder S. Khera ◽

Pawan K. Garg ◽

Sarbesh Tiwari ◽

Narendra Bhargava ◽

Taruna Yadav ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Retrospective Study ◽

Clinical Success ◽

Gastric Varices ◽

Early Recurrence ◽

Single Institution ◽

Vascular Plug ◽

Acute Bleeding ◽

Sclerosing Agents ◽

Age Range ◽

Refractory Hepatic Encephalopathy

Abstract Introduction Retrograde transvenous obliteration (RTO) with the assistance of a balloon (BRTO) or a vascular plug (PARTO) is an established method for treating gastric varices (GVs) secondary to portal hypertension. Most of the available studies on RTO have used lipiodol along with sclerosing agents like ethanolamine oleate or sodium tetradecyl sulfate (STS). We evaluated the safety and efficacy of RTO for treating GVs using STS as a sclerosant without lipiodol. Materials and Methods Sixteen patients (nine men, age range 16–74 years) were included in this retrospective study. Twelve patients presented with acute bleeding, two with chronic bleeding, one with large varices without bleeding, and one with refractory hepatic encephalopathy (HE). BRTO was attempted in 14 patients and PARTO in 2 patients. The technical and clinical success and complications of RTO were studied. Results The RTO procedure was technically successful in 14 (14/16, 87.5%) patients, with 13 (13/14, 93%) obtaining clinical success. One patient died due to the early recurrence of bleeding. Three patients had minor intraprocedural complications. Conclusion Retrograde gastric variceal obliteration using STS is safe and technically feasible with high technical and clinical success and low complication rate.

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