title: Efficacy and safety of the anticoagulant drug, danaparoid sodium, in the treatment of portal vein thrombosis in patients with liver cirrhosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the efficacy and safety of the anticoagulant drug, danaparoid sodium, in the treatment of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in patients with liver cirrhosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A consecutive 26 cirrhotic patients with PVT were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. The etiologies of cirrhosis were hepatitis B virus-related, hepatitis C virus-related, alcoholic and cryptogenic in five, 14, three and four patients, respectively. Child-Pugh grade A, B and C was noted in 13, eight and five patients, respectively. Patients were treated with 2 weeks' administration of danaparoid sodium followed by the evaluation of PVT reduction and adverse events.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients experienced reduction of PVT through the treatment. The median volume of PVT before and after treatment was 2.40 cm(3) (range, 0.18-16.63) and 0.37 cm(3) (range, 0-5.74), respectively. The median reduction rate of PVT volume was 77.3% (range, 18-100%). According to the reduction rate, complete reduction (CR), partial reduction (PR, ≥50%) and stable disease (SD, <50%) were observed in four (15%), 16 (62%) and six patients (23%), respectively. The median volume of PVT before treatment was significantly different between CR + PR and SD (2.09 vs 4.35 cm(3) , P = 0.045). No severe adverse events such as bleeding symptoms (e.g. gastrointestinal bleeding and cerebral hemorrhage) and thrombocytopenia were encountered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Danaparoid sodium for the treatment of PVT in patients with liver cirrhosis was safe and effective. Therefore, anticoagulation therapy with danaparoid sodium could have potential as one of the treatment options in PVT accompanied by cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Naeshiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aikata
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hyogo
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hatsue
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujino
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukuhara
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yohji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakahara
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Miyaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Eisuke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomokazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawaoka
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsuge
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuhiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hiraga
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hiramatsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Imamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiiku
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ochi
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Metabolism, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chayama
keywords: anticoagulation; danaparoid sodium; liver cirrhosis; portal vein thrombosis