Active clinical trials for "Esophageal and Gastric Varices"

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is defined as accumulation of fat in the liver which is not related to either alcohol excess or other causes such viral infection, immune-mediated, or medication related which can lead to fibrosis and later-on, cirrhosis. Over the last years NAFLD related liver cirrhosis has become the commonest cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Portal hypertension is the major complication caused by increased splanchnic blood flow which leads to development of oesophageal varices (OV). Almost all of the patients with portal hypertension can develop OV sometime in their life and one third of those will bleed, hence identifying the presence of OV is a an important aspect of diagnostic workup of these patients with portal hypertension. Upper digestive camera test/endoscopy is the only means to diagnose and grade OV but endoscopy is an invasive procedure and its cost effectiveness for screening is also questionable. These limitations and the ever-increasing workload on endoscopy units has led many researchers to identify some parameters that can non-invasively diagnose OV. Researchers have proposed use of platelet count/spleen diameter ratio, liver stiffness on Fibroscan among many non-invasive tools to predict OV in patients with portal hypertension with success. Recently criteria proposed in Baveno VI conference, (Baveno-IV Criteria) recommended that screening endoscopy can be avoided in patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD) with liver stiffness measurement (LSM) less than 20 kPa and a platelet count more than than 150,000/μL with an expanded Baveno-IV criteria suggesting platelet count >110 × 109 cells/L and LSM <25 kPa can spare even more endoscopies with a risk of missing varices needing treatment (VNT) being minimal.

Terlipressin is the mainstay drug for the treatment of acute variceal bleeding in liver cirrhosis. According to the drug instructions, intravenous bolus infusion is the standard approach of terlipressin. It remains unclear about whether or not continuous infusion of terlipressin should be considered.

Study population: All the consecutive patients of cirrhosis who are diagnosed to have large gastric varices without prior history of bleeding from GV, who came to OPD or endoscopy in Hepatology department of ILBS will be evaluated for inclusion. Study design: Prospective interventional study. The study will be conducted in the Department of Hepatology ILBS. Study period: 1.0 years Sample size: 60 This is a pilot RCT, and we decided to enroll 30 patients in each arm.

Variceal bleeding is a major complication of cirrhosis, associated with a hospital mortality rate of 10%-20%. Surviving patients are at high risk for recurrent hemorrhage. For these reasons, management should be directed at its prevention. Endoscopic variceal band ligation (EBL) in combination with non-selective β-blocker (NSBB) therapy is the recommended first line therapy. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent-shunt (TIPS) is the most effective method to prevent rebleeding, however, it is burdened with increased hepatic encephalopathy and deterioration of liver function in patients with advanced cirrhosis. So TIPS placement forms an alternative if first line therapy fails. Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) is currently the best available method to evaluate the presence and severity of portal hypertension. Patients who experience a reduction in HVPG of ≥20% or to <12mmHg in response to drug therapy are defined as 'responders'. The lowest rebleeding rates are observed in patients on secondary prophylaxis who are HVPG responders. A recent meta-analysis has demonstrated that combination therapy is only marginally more effective than drug therapy. This suggests that pharmacological therapy is the cornerstone of combination therapy. Adding EBL may not be the optimal approach to improve the outcome of HVPG nonresponders and HVPG non-responders are a special high-risk population that may benefit from a more aggressive approach, such as an early decision for TIPS. It recently was shown that TIPS placement within 72 hours after acute bleeding not only prevented recurrent bleeding but also improved survival. These raise the question of whether ligation together with NSBB should remain the first choice for elective secondary prophylaxis. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to compare whether HVPG-guided therapy is superior to standard combination therapy for the prevention of variceal bleeding in patients with decompensated cirrhosis.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the safeness and effectiveness of traditional esophagogastroduodenoscope (EGD) and wired magnetically assisted capsule endoscopy (MACE) in the diagnosis of esophageal varices in biliary atresia (BA) patients. The main questions it aims to answer are: Subjects who do wired magnetically assisted capsule endoscopy do not need to open the mouths during the process, this study also want to know whether wired magnetically assisted capsule endoscopy can reduce the generation of droplets. Diagnostic accuracy between traditional esophagogastroduodenoscope and wired magnetically assisted capsule endoscopy in biliary atresia patients with esophageal varices. Participants will do either traditional esophagogastroduodenoscope or wired magnetically assisted capsule endoscopy.

The aim of this study is to explore whether using endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) to assess gastric varices (GV) and giving additional treatment according to the diameter and blood flow of residual after endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection for GV can reduce the rate of GV rebleeding, mortality, the risk of adverse events, and cost-effectiveness. This study is a multicenter prospective, open-label, randomized controlled study, including 5 study centers: Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, The Southwest Hospital of Army Medical University, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University and Shanxi Coal Center Hospital. The total sample size is 150 patients, with 75 patients in the EUS evaluation group and 75 patients in the control group, respectively. The patients who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria are randomly assigned to EUS evaluation group and control group by using block randomization. The EUS evaluation group uses EUS to observe the diameter and blood flow of residual variceal veins after endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection for GV to evaluate the embolization effect. Endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection is performed again if the diameter of variceal vein is larger than 5 mm and with blood flow signal. After the injection, the blood flow signal is confirmed disappear by EUS. The control group return to the ward after endoscopic cyanoacrylate injection, without EUS evaluation. During the study, the patients are followed up for at least 12 months, and they are requested to return to the hospital for follow-up at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after the treatment, respectively. The data of baseline, treatment, postoperative and follow-up of the two groups are need to collect. The primary outcome of this study is rebleeding rate. Secondary outcomes are eradication rate of GV, mortality rate, retreatment, and cost-effectiveness.

Primary prophylaxis of gastric varices is an important area of research, as gastric varices are a common complication of cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis is a condition in which the liver becomes scarred and loses its ability to function properly, and it is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Gastric varices occur in up to 30% of patients with cirrhosis, and they can rupture, leading to life-threatening bleeding. The clinical, epidemiological, and public health context of primary prophylaxis of gastric varices is therefore the need to prevent the development of this complication in patients at risk for cirrhosis and to reduce the associated morbidity and mortality. The clinical trials on primary prophylaxis of gastric varices are therefore focused on evaluating the safety and efficacy of various interventions, such as beta-blockers and endoscopic techniques, in reducing the risk of gastric varices in patients with cirrhosis. The goal of this trial is to find the most effective and safe strategies for primary prophylaxis of gastric varices, in order to improve the outcomes for patients with cirrhosis.

Gastroesophageal varices are a complication of portal hypertension in cirrhosis.Endoscopy is an unsatisfactory screening test.In this prospective clinical study,we will enroll patients with cirrhosis of various causes, all of whom undergo laboratory tests, elastography, and serum proteomic differential protein testing, including liver elastography (LSM) and spleen elastography (SSM). Baveno VI or expanded BavenoVI criteria are validated by comparing patients' LSM and PLT. LSM, SSM, serum differential protein, platelet count, and EGD data to evaluate the clinical value of SSM and differential proteins in excluding cirrhosis with varices. At the same time, a new predictive model of variceal varices will be established to evaluate the diagnostic value of SSM and differential protein for esophagogastric varices, and a non-invasive method for reliably predicting and evaluating cirrhosis with esophageal varices will be found. And each patient will be followed up every 6 months to 1 year, and the outcome event will be recorded.

The purpose of the study is to determine the clinical impact of cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive treatment for Gastric Varices performed by Indiana University EUS physicians.

The aim of this study is to use non-invasive methods to identify patients at risk of developing gastrointestinal varices and correlation of these non-invasive methods with the degree of esophageal varices and the presence or absence of risk signs of bleeding such as cherry red spots.