title: [Secondary prophylaxis with elastic band ligation in esophageal-gastric varices].
abstract: The aim of the present study was to determine the usefulness of elastic band ligation in the prevention of hemorrhage recurrence due to esophageal-gastric varices. Sixty-five patients who survived an episode of variceal hemorrhage were included in the study. Twenty-nine patients (45%) were Child-Pugh class A, 25 (38%) were class B, and 11 (17%) were class C. The cause of cirrhosis was hepatitis C virus and alcohol in 45% and 31% of the patients, respectively. The first ligation session was performed between the third and fifth day after the hemorrhagic episode and subsequent sessions were carried out at intervals of 3-4 weeks. The ligation sessions were performed with antibiotic prophylaxis. A mean of 2.7 bands were placed per session (range 1-5), and the mean number of sessions required per patient to achieve variceal eradication was 2.5 (range 1-6). The rate of bleeding recurrence was 24.6% (16 episodes). In conclusion, endoscopic elastic band ligation is a useful technique for the eradication of esophageal varices and for the prevention of bleeding recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Aparato Digestivo, Hospital Universitario La Paz, Madrid, Spain. silviagsenent@yahoo.es
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gómez Senent
authors.forename: María Dolores
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Martín Arranz
authors.forename: Consuelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Froilán Torres
authors.forename: Noemí
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Manceñido Marcos
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martín Chavarri
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carrión Alonso
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suárez de Parga
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Segura Cabral
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004932:Esophageal and Gastric Varices / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008026:Ligation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged