Published online Dec 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i34.10566
Peer-review started: March 22, 2021
First decision: April 29, 2021
Revised: May 31, 2021
Accepted: October 15, 2021
Article in press: October 15, 2021
Published online: December 6, 2021
Processing time: 252 Days and 19.6 Hours
The efficacy of endoscopic ultrasonography for the follow-up of gastric varices treated with endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) has not been established.
To evaluate the diagnostic correlation of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and high-frequency intraluminal ultrasound (HFIUS) for type 1 gastric varices (GOV1) after EVL and to identify the predictability for rebleeding of EGD and HFIUS.
In liver cirrhosis patients with GOV1, we performed endoscopic follow-up using EGD and HFIUS synchronously after EVL for hemorrhage from GOV1. Endoscopic grading and red color signs were analyzed using EGD, and the largest variceal cross-sectional areas were measured using HFIUS. In addition, 1-year follow-up was performed. Variceal rebleeding was defined as the presence of hematemesis, hematochezia, or melena without other evidence of bleeding on endoscopic follow-up.
In 26 patients with GOV1, variceal cross-sectional areas on HFIUS of GOV1 was poorly correlated with EGD grading of GOV1 (r = 0.36). In 17 patients who completed the 1-year follow-up, variceal cross-sectional areas on HFIUS was a good predictor of subsequent rebleeding, whereas EGD grading was not a predictor of subsequent rebleeding.
HFIUS measurement is more predictive of GOV1 rebleeding than EGD grading, so HFIUS measurement may be necessary for endoscopic follow-up after EVL in patients with GOV1.
Core Tip: Endoscopic ultrasound was an important modality in the diagnosis of varices. Recently, high-frequency intraluminal ultrasound (HFIUS) enables quantitative measurement of variceal size, so it is a more sensitive imaging modality for the estimation of the size of varices. So we examined the diagnostic correlation of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) grades and HFIUS measurements in estimating post-endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) type 1 gastric varices (GOV1). The results suggest that HFIUS measurement is more predictive of GOV1 rebleeding than EGD grading, so HFIUS measurement may be necessary for endoscopic follow-up after EVL in patients with GOV1.