Role of argon plasma coagulation in treatment of esophageal varices

Table 1 Basic characteristics of patients in clinical studies of “argon plasma coagulation combined with endoscopic variceal ligation” vs “endoscopic variceal ligation alone” in treatment of esophageal varices

Ref.	Country	Sample size (EVL+APC/EVL)	Age (EVL+APC/EVL) (mean ± SD)	Gender (male/female)	Liver function classification (EVL+APC/EVL)	Pathogenic factors (EVL+APC/EVL)	Varicose vein types (EVL+APC/EVL)	Follow-up (EVL+APC/EVL) (mean ± SD)
Nakamura et al[11]. 2001	Japan	30/30	63.7 ± 5.8/60.8 ± 7.1	EVL+APC: 22/8; EVL: 21/9	A: 9/7; B: 17/18; C: 4/5	Virus: 25/26; Alcohol: 4/4; Others: 1/0	F2: 19/17; F3: 11/13	18.5 ± 6.8/15.8 ± 7.7
Cipolletta et al[20]. 2002	Italy	16/14	62.8 ± 5.5/60.8 ± 6.2	EVL+APC: 11/5; EVL: 10/4	Not mentioned	Not mentioned	F2: 10/9; F3: 6/5	16.2 ± 5.8/16.5 ± 5.1
Harras et al[20]. 2010	Egypt	50/50	50.64 ± 10.43/48.96 ± 10.27	Not mentioned	A: 10/14; B: 34/32; C: 6/4	Virus: 50/50; Alcohol: 0/0; Others: 0/0	F2: 3/0; F3: 47/50	16.3/17.4
Hamza I et al[21]. 2012	Egypt	30/30	50.23 ± 2.095/50 ± 2.104	EVL+APC: 16/14; EVL: 18/12	The two groups have the highest proportion of B grade, and there is no difference between the groups	Not mentioned	Post operative 3 mo: F0: 18/15; F1: 12/15; F2: 0/0	Follow-up 3 mo and 6 mo
Kamal et al[13]. 2017	Egypt	20/20	48.4/47.8	Not mentioned	A:12/12; B: 6/6; C: 2/2	Virus: 20/20; Alcohol: 0/0; Others: 0/0	Not mentioned	Not mentioned

According to the Japanese Society of Portal Hypertension, F0: No varicose veins; F1: Linear small varicose veins; F2: Beaded medium Varicose veins; F3: Nodular or large varicose veins. APC: Argon plasma coagulation; EVL: Endoscopic esophageal varices ligation.