Endoscopic ultrasound assessment of gastrointestinal polypoid lesions of indeterminate morphology in patients with portal hypertension

Clinical parameters associated with gastric portal hypertensive polyps

OBJECTIVES

Portal hypertensive polyps (PHPs) are incompletely characterized lesions that can be found in the distal stomach of patients with portal hypertension. We aimed to delineate clinical factors associated with the appearance of these rare polyps.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study of a cohort with 513 cirrhotic patients comparing patients with and without PHP using descriptive analyses and multivariable logistic regression. To address the problem of missing values, in particular for HVPG and liver stiffness, we used multiple imputation of missing values.

RESULTS

The prevalence of macroscopically diagnosed PHP was 3.3% (95% confidence interval 2.0 - 5.4%). In 53% of cases, the correct classification was missed on index gastroscopy. Patients with PHP were older at gastroscopy (65 years vs. 59), had higher hepatic venous pressure gradients (HVPG, 28 mmHg vs. 19 mmHg), higher transient elastography (TE) measurements (50.7 kPa vs. 21.8 kPa) and more often had previous rubber band ligations (RBL, 64.7% vs. 25.8%). The multivariable logistic regression on the outcome macroscopically diagnosed PHP estimated an odds ratio (OR) for HPVG of 1.13 (CI 0.95-1.34), increased liver stiffness of 1.03 (1.00 - 1.07) and previous RBL of 3.84 (1.24 - 11.88), respectively.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of PHPs in the stomach was higher than assumed in previous studies and misclassification was commonly observed. The appearance of these rare polyps is associated with previous RBL and may correlate with severity of PH. Thus, PHPs may be regarded as marker for relevant PH, but clinical significance of these polyps is still uncertain.

Differences between sporadic hyperplastic gastric polyps and portal hypertensive gastric polyps: a review

Portal hypertension (PH) is one of the most severe complications of chronic liver diseases. It is defined as an increase in pressure in the portal venous system which results in a portosystemic gradient >5 mmHg. In the western world, cirrhosis is the most frequent cause of PH, mainly due to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and alcoholic liver disease. Patients with PH have esophageal varices in 68-73% of cases, portal hypertensive gastropathy in 51-73% and hyperplastic polyps (HPs) in 0.9-2%. Recent studies have shown that HPs found in PH patients are different from classical HPs. They constitute a new entity called portal hypertensive polyps (PHPs). The main difference between sporadic HPs and PHP is the presence of larger and more numerous vascular capillaries in the lamina propria. The clinical course of PHPs is unknown. Their physiopathology seems different from HPs: the increased congestion caused by higher portal pressure in the stomach may induce capillaries proliferation and neoangiogenesis. PHPs may be responsible for symptoms, such as pyloric obstruction, iron deficiency and anemia. Their prevalence in portal hypertensive and cirrhotic patients is from 1% to 8%. PHPs can be single or numerous, in the antrum or the gastric corpus. Their size ranges from 2 to 3 cm. PHPs seem to disappear or shrink with the treatment of PH. They should be resected in case of symptom and if >10 mm, after Helicobacter pylori eradication if present. However, their recurrence is frequent (40-79%), thus surveillance endoscopy is mandatory, at the same time as esophageal varices.