Effectiveness and safety of endoscopic treatment for duodenal variceal bleeding: a systematic review

Duodenal varix is a rare condition that involves massive bleeding, diagnostic difficulties, and a high rate of rebleeding and mortality. The purpose of this study was to systematically review endoscopic treatment for duodenal variceal bleeding to evaluate its effectiveness and safety. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library up to 21 November 2019. Ninety-two studies containing 156 patients were finally included, and individual data from 101 patients (mean age: 52.67 ± 13.82 years, male: 64.4%) were collected and further analyzed. We used an analysis of variance and χ2 or Fisher's exact tests to analyze individual data from 101 patients. The cause of duodenal variceal bleeding was cirrhosis-related intrahepatic portal hypertension (IPH) in 76.2% of patients. The overall rates of initial hemostasis and treatment success of endoscopic treatment for duodenal variceal bleeding were 89.1 and 81.2%, respectively. The median duration of follow-up was 4.5 (1.0, 12.0) months. The overall rates of rebleeding and mortality were 8.9 and 13.9%, respectively. Among a variety of endoscopic treatments available, only the initial hemostasis rate was significantly different between the endoscopic injection sclerotherapy and endoscopic tissue adhesive (ETA) groups (72.7 vs. 94.7%, P = 0.023); differences in treatment success, rebleeding, mortality, and adverse events were not statistically significant among the four groups. Endoscopic intervention is a feasible, well tolerated, and effective modality for the treatment of duodenal variceal bleeding. Among the variety of endoscopic treatments available, ETA with cyanoacrylate may be preferable for duodenal variceal bleeding.

Clinical characteristics and efficacy of endoscopic treatment of gastrointestinal ectopic varices: A single-center study

BACKGROUND

Ectopic varices (EcVs) may cause massive bleeding, which can be difficult to control, with a high rate of mortality. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics of EcVs and the efficacy of endoscopic treatment.

METHODS

From January 2008 to July 2017, the clinical data of 150 patients with EcVs in our center were retrospectively collected and analyzed.

RESULTS

One hundred and fifty patients with EcVs (male 74.7%), with a mean age of: 54.1 ± 14.6 years were included. The prevalence of EcVs was 0.92% in gastrointestinal varices. Cirrhosis was the most common cause of EcVs (67.0%). The rates of bleeding were 57.14%, 4.34%, 30.0%, 33.3%, and 100% in the duodenal varices rectal varices, colonic varices, anastomotic varices, and small bowel varices, respectively. An age under 55 years, varices in the duodenum, and erythema were considered risk factors for EcV bleeding. Endoscopic treatments were performed in 15 patients with EcV bleeding. The follow-up period of the patients who underwent endoscopic treatment ranged from 0.5 to 24 months. The overall rate of treatment success was 73.33% for endoscopic treatment of EcV bleeding. The overall rates of rebleeding and mortality during 2 years were as high as 53.3% and 26.7%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Age, erythema, and the location of EcVs are considered risk factors for EcV bleeding, and the rate of bleeding is higher in patients with duodenal varices than in those with other EcVs. Endoscopic treatment is safe, effective, and feasible for controlling EcV bleeding.

Surgical treatment of spondylolisthesis with SOCON instrumentation

OBJECTIVE

To observe the clinical outcomes of using a new instrumentation SOCON system in the treatment of degenerative spondylolisthesis.

METHODS

Retrospective clinical and roentgenograph review of 21 patients who suffered from degenerative spondylolisthesis with spinal stenosis treated by decompression, posterolateral intertransverse arthrodesis, and with transpedicle instrumentation of SOCON system.

RESULTS

Nineteen of 21 patients were completely recovery from their preoperative symptoms, 17 of 18 cases with grade one slippage reduced to normal spine alignment, 2 cases of grade two slippage fully reduced, and one case of grade two spondylolisthesis got 70% reduction. Post-operative satisfactory rate was 90.5%. Pain relief was 90.5%. Neither infection nor neurologic complication occurred in this series.

CONCLUSION

Our short time follow-up and limited cases showed satisfactory preliminary result of surgical treatment of spondylolisthesis with SOCON instrumentation.