title: Bacteremia in cirrhotic patients submitted to endoscopic band ligation of esophageal varices.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Endoscopic procedures can develop bacteremia. Patients with chronic liver disease are more predisposed to undergo bacteremia and infections because they are immunocompromised.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of bacteremia in cirrhotics submitted to endoscopic variceal ligation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three groups of 40 patients each were studied. One group was made up of patients with cirrhosis who were submitted to ligation, a second group was composed of cirrhotics who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy only, and a third group was composed of patients without liver disease who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Blood was sampled from all patients for culture, both in aerobic and in anaerobic mediums, immediately before endoscopy and at 5 and 30 minutes after its completion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Blood culture was positive in 6 samples. In 4 of these, the bacteria (Staphylococcus hominis hominis, Staphylococcus auricularis, Acinetobacter lwoffii, and coagulase-negative staphylococcus) were isolated before the endoscopic procedure and thus were considered as contamination. In the ligation group, a streptococcus of the viridans group was isolated 5 minutes after the procedure, and in the cirrhosis without ligation group, a Staphylococcus epidermidis was isolated at 30 minutes. None of the patients showed clinical evidence of infection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The bacteremia incidence in cirrhotic patients submitted to variceal ligation was 2.5%, showing no difference from the control groups.
authors.affiliation: Santa Casa Hospital, Departamento of Gastroenterologia, Fundação Faculdade Federal de Ciências Médicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo Balzano
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Maulaz
authors.forename: Angelo Alves
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: de Mattos
authors.forename: Júlio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pereira-Lima
authors.forename: Judite
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dietz
mesh_terms: D016470:Bacteremia / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004932:Esophageal and Gastric Varices / Q000601:surgery*; D004945:Esophagoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008026:Ligation / Q000009:adverse effects; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies