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If it is not possible to arrest massive hemorrhage from esophageal varices within 48 h by conservative means or by endoscopic phlebosclerosation, surgery should be performed as soon as possible. In most cases a palliative operation is performed, by which irreversible shock and consequent heart failure can be avoided. The method of phlebosclerosation preferred by the authors is transection of the lower esophagus via a thoracic approach.
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PMID:[Blocking surgery for esophageal varices]. 6 93

The use of beta-adrenergic antagonists for primary prevention of gastrointestinal hemorrhage in patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices is discussed. In five controlled trials, patients with cirrhosis and endoscopically proven esophageal varices were treated with either propranolol or nadolol in doses to reduce heart rate by 20-25% or in doses to decrease hepatic vein pressure by 25% of basal levels or to a level of less than 12 mm Hg. In two of three studies, investigators found that propranolol significantly reduced frequency of initial bleeding in patients with esophageal varices. In one of two studies, nadolol significantly decreased the risk of variceal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis; in the other study, a significant difference in the frequency of initial bleeding was found only among patients who were compliant with therapy. Only one of the five studies showed a significant difference in survival between the treatment group and the placebo group. Adverse effects of therapy included dizziness, fatigue, cardiac insufficiency, Raynaud's phenomenon, and risk of bleeding associated with propranolol withdrawal. Therapy with a nonselective beta-adrenergic antagonist should be considered for primary prevention of gastrointestinal hemorrhage in patients with cirrhosis and suspected or documented large varices; however, abrupt discontinuation of the medication is associated with risk of bleeding.
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PMID:Beta-adrenergic antagonists for primary prevention of gastrointestinal hemorrhage in patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices. 156 29

From January 1978 to August 1987, 21 patients received a peritoneovenous shunt using the Le Veen valve (LVV). The indications criteria were the long-term diuretic therapy failure (mean time = 24.4 months) or resistence to medical therapy during hospital internment. The 21 patients underwent 36 surgeries, being 4 valve position review and 11 changes of LVV. The mean age was 51.6 years. Fifteen patients had alcoholic cirrhosis, 3 postnecrotic cirrhosis, one Budd-Chiari syndrome, one mansoni Schistosomiasis, and one malignant ascites. Ten were Child B and 9 Child C patients. Eight patients with history of previous esophageal varices bleeding (EVB) underwent endoscopic sclerotherapy (EE) before LVV implantation. Seven patients died in the early postoperative period (3 Child B and 4 Child C patients). Three patients died due to EVB and the others as consequence of hepatic failure (one), cardiac insufficiency (one), sepsis (one), and bronchopneumonia (one). The mean follow-up was 19.9 months (1-61). Early LVV occlusion occurred in 4 patients and late valve occlusion in others 4 patients. The LVV changes were done at ambulatorial preceeding. Ten patients (47.6%) died in late follow-up and in these cases death was related to the main disease course. It is concluded that: 1) LVV is a useful therapy in patients with intractable ascites, since it is not the terminal manifestations of disease; 2) early mortality is related to liver function and late mortality to main disease course; 3) ascitic patients with EVB should undergo endoscopic sclerotherapy before LVV implantation.
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PMID:[Use of the Leveen shunt in the treatment of clinically intractable ascites]. 325 81

Clinical findings, symptoms and predisposing factors were studied in 43 patients with oesophageal candidiasis, 40 patients with peptic oesophagitis and 40 normal controls. Oesophageal candidiasis was confirmed cytologically. 2.4% of patients who had undergone gastroscopy had oesophageal candidiasis; only three of them had simultaneous candidiasis of the oral cavity. Cardiac failure, oesophageal varices, hiatus hernia and gastric ulcer were common associated disorders. 42% of patients with candidal oesophagitis were symptom-free. Most common symptoms were vomiting, retrosternal and epigastric pain. Peptic oesophagitis was more frequently associated with symptoms. Predisposing factors were present in 88% of cases of oesophageal candidiasis: alcoholism, hepatic cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, malignant tumours and other wasting diseases. 18 patients had had treatment with cimetidine; they included all 13 patients whose candidiasis was first detected at check endoscopy.
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PMID:[Candidiasis of the esophagus. Prospective study of incidence, type of complaints and predisposing factors]. 373 73

The aim of the present study was to evaluate how many cirrhotics may receive propranolol after upper gastrointestinal bleeding. One hundred and twelve patients were consecutively admitted in a digestive intensive care unit during a two-year study, for bleeding of esophageal (63 p. 100) or gastric (4 p. 100) varices, or acute gastric erosions (33 p. 100). Twenty-one per cent of patients were initially class A (Child's classification). 26 p. 100 were B, and 53 p. 100 were C. Eighteen patients (16 p. 100) died within the first 10 days. Eighty patients (71 p. 100) did not receive propranolol because of: a) contraindication for this drug (asthma, heart failure, diabetes, n = 25); b) carcinoma, mainly of the liver (n = 11); c) foreseeable lack of compliance with the treatment (n = 8); d) criteria for which the efficacy of propranolol has not been demonstrated (small esophageal varices, jaundice, or ascites, n = 36). Only 14 patients (13 p. 100) received propranolol therapy: 5 stopped their treatment, 3 because of gastrointestinal rebleeding. Our experience suggests that propranolol can be used only in a few cirrhotics for prevention of recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding.
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PMID:[How many cirrhotic patients may receive propranolol after digestive hemorrhage?]. 387 54

A 57-year-old man, who had received a transfusion five years before, was admitted to our hospital complaining of worsening dyspnea on exertion. Cardiac catheterization was performed, and pulmonary hypertension was diagnosed. Liver dysfunction was also documented. We administered diuretics and observed his clinical course. Gradually worsening hypoxemia and radioisotope accumulation in the kidney following a lung perfusion scintigram suggested the existence of an intrapulmonary shunt. The patient died seven years later due to exacerbation of heart failure secondary to pulmonary infection. Autopsy revealed remarkable hypertensive pulmonary arteriopathy as well as abnormal dilation of precapillary pulmonary arterioles. Esophageal varices suggested portal hypertension. Marked hypoxemia and intrapulmonary vascular dilation suggest the contribution of an hepatopulmonary syndrome.
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PMID:[An autopsied case of primary pulmonary hypertension complicated by hepatopulmonary syndrome]. 769 75

We want to present our experience performed at the Institute of Radiology of Turin: 98 TIPS in 97 patients (in 1 patient, twice). METHODS. From March 1992, 97 cirrhotic patients (18 Child A, 48 Child B, 31 Child C) underwent the TIPS procedure for portal hypertension. The indications were digestive hemorrhage in 81 patients (20 of which performed in emergency for acute bleeding), intractable ascites in 13 patients and bleeding prevention in 3 patients. RESULTS. Immediate technical success was obtained in 95/98 cases (96.9%). Patients were monitored by US-Doppler at 24 hours, 2 months and every 6 months and by esophagogastroscopy at 2 and 6 months. Major clinical complications included CID (2 cases), hepatic failure (3 cases), renal insufficiency (2 cases), heart failure (1 case), recurrent bleeding (6 cases) and encephalopathy (15 cases). We had 5 early occlusion and 17 late stenosis of the shunt; 21 patients in this group were successfully treated either by PTA or restenting; one patient underwent a surgical shunt. Mortality rate follow-up was 0/17 among Child A patients, 7/48 (14.5%) among Child B patients and 12/29 (41.3%) among Child C patients. CONCLUSIONS. TIPS is a safe and valuable method for the treatment of portal hypertension. Though shunt stenosis may occur with a certain frequency (22/95, 23.1% in our study), a second intervention is usually effective in reducing gastro-oesophageal varices and ascites.
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PMID:[Intrahepatic portosystemic shunts]. 770 May 58

Eighteen patients with an acute thrombosis of the splanchnic veins were reviewed. Most of apparently idiopathic cases of splanchnic vein thrombosis are related to an increased coagulation related to a congenital or acquired defect of haemostasis. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a new and effective treatment. Nine male and 9 female patients (range of age: 19 to 81 years) experienced a mesenteric venous thrombosis. There were 14 mesenteric vein thromboses with infarction, two transient mesenteric venous ischaemias without bowel infarction and two acute thromboses of the splanchnic veins without bowel ischaemia. A coagulopathy was detected in seven patients: oral contraception, protein C (PC) or antithrombin III (AT III) congenital deficiencies, acquired deficiency of AT III, PC and protein S (PS), polycythaemia in the post-partum period and primary myeloproliferative disorder. No coagulopathy was associated with thrombosis in eight cases: mesenteric haematoma, splenomegaly, cirrhosis, appendicectomy, cholescytectomy, chronic heart failure, treatment with beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist and digitalis, stenosis of the portal anastomosis after liver transplantation. Twelve patients required surgery: eight intestinal bowel resections with immediate anastomosis, four resections without immediate anastomosis. Only one patient underwent a second look for a repeat bowel resection. No death occurred in the early postoperative period and 17 out of 18 patients were alive after 12 years. An oral anticoagulant therapy was undertaken from two months to seven years. However, three patients suffered a recurrent thrombosis. Two of them required a long-term anticoagulation. Six patients experienced a portal hypertension and oral anticoagulants were discontinued in three of them because of bleeding oesophageal varices. Six patients were treated only by unfractionated heparin (UFH) or low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) followed by oral anticoagulants. After laparotomy, two were only treated with UFH without any bowel resection, as mesenteric venous ischaemia was too extensive. These observations suggest that the choice between an appropriate medical or surgical treatment is important and must be discussed. Since 1989, the therapeutic choice has been modified by ultrasonography and contrast enhanced computed tomographic scan which confirms diagnosis, allows to follow up and check the effects of anticoagulation and to choose the time for surgery. When the diagnosis is established and the patient's risk is low, the IU . kg(-1) . d(-1) to obtain an antifactor Xa activity between 0.3 and 0.6 antiXa IU mL(-1). When the diagnosis is uncertain and the patient's risk if high a laparotomy is required.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:[Mesentric venous thrombosis. Risk factors, treatment and outcome. An analysis of 18 cases]. 781 2

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible value of continuous administration of propranolol in the prevention of recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis undergoing chronic endoscopic sclerotherapy. Among 239 patients admitted for acute variceal bleeding, 85 with cirrhosis were randomized to receive sclerotherapy either alone (40) or in combination with propranolol (45). Sclerotherapy was carried out with an intravariceal injection of 5% ethanolamine oleate through a fiberoptic endoscope. The procedure was performed every week, until the esophageal varices at the gastroesophageal junction were too small for any further injections. Varices were reinjected if they recurred. Propranolol was given orally twice a day until heart rate was reduced by 25% in the resting position. The mean follow-up period was 23.2 and 24.2 months for sclerotherapy and the sclerotherapy plus propranolol groups, respectively. During this period a significant (P = 0.001) reduction in the recurrence of esophageal varices was observed in patients treated with the combination of sclerotherapy plus propranolol compared with those treated with sclerotherapy alone. However, the time of rebleeding from any source or from esophageal varices did not differ significantly between the two groups. In the sclerotherapy group 21 patients rebled (35 bleeding episodes) compared with 14 (22 episodes) in the combination therapy group. Patients in the sclerotherapy group were more prone to bleed from gastric varices and congestive gastropathy than patients treated with the combination of sclerotherapy plus propranolol (P = 0.012). Twenty-five patients in the endoscopic sclerotherapy group developed complications attributed to sclerotherapy compared with 23 patients in the sclerotherapy plus propranolol group. Complications directly attributable to propranolol were observed in 11 patients. Three of these patients stopped taking the drug due to heart failure (1) and flapping tremor (2). Eight patients (17.8%) died in the latter group while the corresponding figure in the sclerotherapy group was nine (22.5%). It is concluded that the continuous administration of propranolol may reduce incidences of recurrent upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage from gastric sources in patients with cirrhosis undergoing chronic sclerotherapy.
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PMID:Propranolol in the prevention of recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis undergoing endoscopic sclerotherapy. A randomized controlled trial. 789 Sep 17

Hereditary hemorrhagic teleangiectasia, or M. Osler (Osler-Weber-Rendu disease), is an autosomal dominant, systemic fibrovascular dysplasia. This may lead to increased liver blood flow from arteriovenous fistulas. A 45-year-old woman with a known M. Osler was admitted for liver transplantation. On admission, exertional dyspnea was the predominant symptom. Radiological investigations revealed multiple intrahepatic arteriovenous fistulas and consecutive high-output heart failure. Laboratory findings revealed remarkably elevated bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase. To alleviate the high-output cardiac failure, the hepatic artery was ligated. Fourteen months later, the patient presented again with increased levels of bilirubin and recurrent bleeding episodes from esophageal varices grade IV. The patient underwent liver transplantation and post-transplant recovery was excellent. A hyperdynamic circulatory state due to a hepatic M. Osler has been treated in several cases by ligation or embolization of the hepatic artery. This procedure, however, is recommended only for patients with normal liver function and carries a considerably risk of bile duct necrosis.
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PMID:Effective therapy for hepatic M. Osler with systemic hypercirculation by ligation of the hepatic artery and subsequent liver transplantation. 970 2


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