Endoscopic therapy of gastric variceal bleeding

Abstract

Bleeding from esophageal and gastric varices is the most life-threatening complication of liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Gastric variceal bleeding is often more serious and can be fatal. Endoscopic treatment is initially performed to stop variceal hemorrhage. Currently, international consensus guidelines for the treatment of gastric variceal bleeding vary depending on the endoscopic classification. Gastric varices have different physiology and clinical characteristics compared to esophageal varices. There is little information about the management of gastric variceal bleeding. Although several recent developments in the agents and the techniques have improved the outcome in this pathology, no consensus has been reached on the optimum treatment. This article reviews the current endoscopic treatment modalities used in gastric variceal bleeding according to the literature from MedLine.

Keywords

• gastric varices
• review
• classification
• endoscopy
• treatment