Small varices in chronic liver diseases.

Gastroesophageal varices are common complications of chronic liver diseases (CLDs) and portal hypertension. Small varices have the risk of progressing to larger varices, causing bleeding or even death. Thus, early detection and appropriate management of small varices are necessary. The purpose of this review is to summarize the advance in the recent 5years about diagnosing and managing the small varices in CLDs. The diagnosing methods of small varices in recent studies include improved endoscopic examinations, such as capsule endoscopy, and many noninvasive methods, including blood tests, ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance. For the management of small varices, though it is controversial, prevention using nonselective beta-blockers is still an essential part. In this review, we summarize the classification of varices, the invasive and noninvasive diagnostic methods, their performances, and the emerging progression in the management of small varices in the recent 5 years. We hope that this review provides relevant information to understand better and appropriately manage small varices. Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Ying Zhu, Hui Cheng, Jianyong Chen, Yifei Huang, Hao Liu, Xiaolong Qi. Small varices in chronic liver diseases. Current opinion in gastroenterology. 2022 May 01;38(3):239-250

Mesh Tags

PMID: 35256572

search → result