Published online Dec 27, 2017. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v9.i12.288
Peer-review started: August 27, 2017
First decision: September 25, 2017
Revised: October 20, 2017
Accepted: November 11, 2017
Article in press: November 11, 2017
Published online: December 27, 2017
Processing time: 122 Days and 4.9 Hours
Massive gastrointestinal bleeding from gastrointestinal varices is one of the most serious complications in patients with portal hypertension. However, if no bleeding point can be detected by endoscopy in the predilection sites of gastrointestinal varices, such as the esophagus and stomach, ectopic gastrointestinal variceal bleeding should be considered as a differential diagnosis. Herein, we report a case of ectopic ileal variceal bleeding in a 57-year-old woman, which was successfully diagnosed by multi-detector row CT (MDCT) and angiography and treated by segmental ileum resection. To date, there have been no consensus for the treatment of ectopic ileal variceal bleeding. This review was designed to clarify the clinical characteristics of patients with ectopic ileal variceal and discuss possible treatment strategies. From the PubMed database and our own database, we reviewed 21 consecutive cases of ileal variceal bleeding diagnosed from 1982 to 2017. MDCT and angiography is useful for the rapid examination and surgical resection of an affected lesion and is a safe and effective treatment strategy to avoid further bleeding.
Core tip: Massive gastrointestinal bleeding from gastrointestinal varices is one of the most serious complications in patients with portal hypertension. If no bleeding point can be detected by endoscopy in the predilection sites of gastrointestinal varices, ectopic gastrointestinal variceal bleeding should be considered as a differential diagnosis. We report here a 57-year-old female case of ectopic ileal variceal bleeding, which were diagnosed by multi-detector row CT (MDCT) and its angiography and treated by segmental ileum resection. From the review results of previous reports, MDCT and its angiography is a rapid and useful examination. Moreover, surgical resection of responsible lesion is safe and effective treatment strategy to avoid further bleeding.