Clinicopathological features and treatment of ectopic varices with portal hypertension

Unusual Causes of Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding

Upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is an important clinical condition managed routinely by endoscopists. Diagnostic and therapeutic options vary immensely based on the source of bleeding and it is important for the gastroenterologist to be cognizant of both common and uncommon etiologies. The focus of this article is to highlight and discuss unusual sources of upper GI bleeding, with a particular emphasis on both the clinical and endoscopic features to help diagnose and treat these atypical causes of bleeding.

Portal hypertensive enteropathy

Portal hypertensive enteropathy (PHE) is a condition that describes the pathologic changes and mucosal abnormalities observed in the small intestine of patients with portal hypertension. This entity is being increasingly recognized and better understood over the past decade due to increased accessibility of the small intestine made possible by the introduction of video capsule endoscopy and deep enteroscopy. Though challenged by its diverse endoscopic appearance, multiple scoring systems have been proposed to classify the endoscopic presentation and grade its severity. Endoscopic findings can be broadly categorized into vascular and non-vascular lesions with many subtypes of both categories. Clinical manifestations of PHE can range from asymptomatic incidental findings to fatal gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Classic endoscopic findings in the setting of portal hypertension may lead to a prompt diagnosis. Occasionally histopathology and cross sectional imaging like computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging may be helpful in establishing a diagnosis. Management of overt bleeding requires multidisciplinary approach involving hepatologists, endoscopists, surgeons, and interventional radiologists. Adequate resuscitation, reduction of portal pressure, and endoscopic therapeutic intervention remain the main principles of the initial treatment. This article reviews the existing evidence on PHE with emphasis on its classification, diagnosis, clinical manifestations, endoscopic appearance, pathological findings, and clinical management. A new schematic management of ectopic variceal bleed is also proposed.

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts and portal hypertension-related complications

Portal hypertension (PH) plays an important role in the natural history of cirrhosis, and is associated with several clinical consequences. The introduction of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS) in the 1980s has been regarded as a major technical advance in the management of the PH-related complications. At present, polytetrafluoroethylene-covered stents are the preferred option over traditional bare metal stents. TIPS is currently indicated as a salvage therapy in patients with bleeding esophageal varices who fail standard treatment. Recently, applying TIPS early (within 72 h after admission) has been shown to be an effective and life-saving treatment in those with high-risk variceal bleeding. In addition, TIPS is recommended as the second-line treatment for secondary prophylaxis. For bleeding gastric varices, applying TIPS was able to achieve hemostasis in more than 90% of patients. More trials are needed to clarify the efficacy of TIPS compared with other treatment modalities, including cyanoacrylate injection and balloon retrograde transvenous obliteration of gastric varices. TIPS should also be considered in bleeding ectopic varices and refractory portal hypertensive gastropathy. In patients with refractory ascites, there is growing evidence that TIPS not only results in better control of ascites, but also improves long-term survival in appropriately selected candidates. In addition, TIPS is a promising treatment for refractory hepatic hydrothorax. However, the role of TIPS in the treatment of hepatorenal and hepatopulmonary syndrome is not well defined. The advantage of TIPS is offset by a risk of developing hepatic encephalopathy, the most relevant post-procedural complication. Emerging data are addressing the determination the optimal time and patient selection for TIPS placement aiming at improving long-term treatment outcome. This review is aimed at summarizing the published data regarding the application of TIPS in the management of complications related to PH.

Bleeding ectopic varices as the first manifestation of portal hypertension

Ectopic varices are defined as dilated portosystemic collateral veins in locations other than the gastroesophageal region. We present a case of recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding as the first manifestation of portal hypertension. We diagnosed ectopic duodenal varices without gastroesophageal varices on upper GI endoscopy and extrahepatic portal venous obstruction (EHPVO) on CT angiography and managed this case.

Idiopathic colonic varices: case report and review of literature

INTRODUCTION

Colonic varices represent a very rare entity, either an incidental finding at colonoscopy or discovered due to its complication, the lower gastrointestinal bleeding. The most common cause of colonic varices is portal hypertension associated with liver disease or secondary to pancreatic conditions, like chronic pancreatitis or malignancies. The incidence of colonic varices is very low, even in liver cirrhosis where the patients frequently develop varices in the upper gastrointestinal tract, but surprisingly uncommon present with varices localized in the colon.

CASE PRESENTATION

We report a case of idiopathic colonic varices, diagnosed at a routine colonoscopy performed for nespecific abdominal disturbances in a female patient without liver disease or pancreatic conditions responsible for portal hypertension development.

CONCLUSIONS

The development of colonic varices in the absence of a certain trigger represents a major issue for practitioners due to its major complication, lower gastrointestinal bleeding.

Clinical, endoscopic and endoscopic ultrasound features of duodenal varices: A report of 10 cases

BACKGROUND

Duodenal varices (DV) although an uncommon cause, are an important cause due to the severe nature of the bleed and associated adverse outcome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively evaluated patients with DV seen at our institution over past 4 years.

RESULTS

A total of 10 patients (nine males; mean age was 35.8 ± 7.68 years) with DV were studied. Five patients had underlying cirrhosis and five had DV because of non-cirrhotic portal hypertension (four patients had extra-hepatic portal venous obstruction and one patient had non-cirrhotic portal fibrosis). Five patients presented with upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleed, whereas in the remaining five patients DV were detected on endoscopy performed for evaluation of portal hypertension. Endoscopy revealed submucosal lesion in nine patients, whereas in one patient an initial endoscopic diagnosis of Dieulafoy's lesion was made. However endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) could clearly identify DV in all patients. Of five patients presenting with upper GI bleed, three had the esophageal varices eradicated and two presented 1(st) time with bleed form DV and did not have esophagogastric varices. All patients with acute upper GI bleed were initially treated with intravenous terlipressin followed by glue (n-butyl cyanoacrylate) injection in 4/5 patients with one patient refusing further endoscopic therapy. The variceal obliteration was documented by EUS in all these four patients and there has been no recurrence of bleed in these four patients over a follow-up period of 4-46 months. The five non-bleeding DV were already on beta- blockers and the same were continued. Two of these five patients succumbed to progressive liver failure with none of these five patients having GI bleed on follow-up.

CONCLUSION

EUS is a useful investigational modality for evaluating patients with DV and endoscopic injection of glue is an effective therapy for controlling and preventing recurrence of bleed from DV.

Endovascular interventions for traumatic portal venous hemorrhage complicated by portal hypertension

Life-threatening hemorrhage rarely occurs from the portal vein following blunt hepatic trauma. Traditionally, severe portal bleeding in this setting has been controlled by surgical techniques such as packing, ligation, and venorrhaphy. The presence of portal hypertension could potentially increase the amount of hemorrhage in the setting of blunt portal vein trauma making it more difficult to control. This case series describes the use of indirect carbon dioxide portography to identify portal hemorrhage. Furthermore, these cases illustrate attempted endovascular treatment utilizing a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt in one scenario and transmesocaval shunt coiling of a jejunal varix in the other.

Percutaneous transsplenic embolization of jejunal varices in a patient with liver cirrhosis: a case report

Bleeding jejunal varices are rare and could be life threatening. They are usually found in the presence of portal hypertension and prior history of gastrointestinal surgery. They can be effectively managed by radiological interventions such as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt or transhepatic embolization of varices. However, in patients with portal vein obstruction, an alternative access is necessary. We report a case of bleeding jejunal varices associated with postoperative adhesion in a patient with portal vein thrombosis which was successfully managed by percutaneous transsplenic embolization.

Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Cirrhotic Patients with Portal Hypertension

Gastrointestinal bleeding related to portal hypertension is a serious complication in patients with liver cirrhosis. Most patients bleed from esophageal or gastric varices, but bleeding from ectopic varices or portal hypertensive gastropathy is also possible. The management of acute bleeding has changed over the last years. Patients are managed with a combination of endoscopic and pharmacologic treatment. The endoscopic treatment of choice for esophageal variceal bleeding is variceal band ligation. Bleeding from gastric varices is treated by injection with cyanoacrylate. Treatment with vasoactive drugs as well as antibiotic treatment is started before or at the time point of endoscopy. The first-line treatment for primary prophylaxis of esophageal variceal bleeding is nonselective beta blockers. Pharmacologic therapy is recommended for most patients; band ligation is an alternative in patients with contraindications for or intolerability of beta blockers. Treatment options for secondary prophylaxis include variceal band ligation, beta blockers, a combination of nitrates and beta blockers, and combination of band ligation and pharmacologic treatment. A clear superiority of one treatment over the other has not been shown. Bleeding from portal hypertensive gastropathy or ectopic varices is less common. Treatment options include beta blocker therapy, injection therapy, and interventional radiology.

Spontaneous Massive Hemothorax Secondary to Ectopic Diaphragmatic Varicose Veins

The article reports a clinical case of a 39-year-old male patient who was admitted in the emergency room in shock. The clinical exams and additional tests identified a right massive hemothorax, without apparent etiological factors. He was submitted to an emergency right thoracotomy. A bulky varicose formation in the diaphragmatic surface, with evident laceration and haemorrhage was identified. The article describes this case due to its rarity. The varicose formation was simply ligated and the evolution, as well as the outcome of this clinical case was uneventful.

A case of ascending colon variceal bleeding treated with venous coil embolization

A 38-year-old female with a history of alcoholic liver cirrhosis visited our hospital with a massive hematochezia. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy did not demonstrate any bleeding source, and a colonoscopy showed a massive hemorrhage in the ascending colon but without an obvious focus. The source of the bleeding could not be found with a mesenteric artery angiography. We performed an enhanced abdominal computed tomography, which revealed a distal ascending colonic varix, and assumed that the varix was the source of the bleeding. We performed a venous coil embolization and histoacryl injection to obliterate the colon varix. The intervention appeared to be successful because the vital signs and hemoglobin laboratory data remained stable and because the hematochezia was no longer observed. We report here on a rare case of colonic variceal bleeding that was treated with venous coil embolization.

Balloon-occluded percutaneous transhepatic obliteration of isolated vesical varices causing gross hematuria

Gross hematuria secondary to vesical varices is an unusual presentation. We report such a case recurrent gross hematuria in a male patient who had a history of bladder substitution with ileal segments that had been treated by balloon-occluded percutaneous transhepatic obliteration of vesical varices.