NON-ENDOSCOPIC PREDICTORS FOR THE PRESENCE OF ESOPHAGEAL VARICES IN PATIENTS OF LIVER CIRRHOSIS

Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency and associated factors of esophageal varices in liver cirrhosis patients at a tertiary care hospital.

Study design: Cross sectional

Place & duration of study: Department of Gastroenterology, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro.

Methodology: In this cross-sectional observational study, 109 liver cirrhosis patients participated. Every recruited patient had a thorough medical history, pertinent lab results, a physical examination, and a portal venous doppler examination. Presence of esophageal was confirmed on upper GI endoscopy. Data analysis was done using SPSS Version 26. The quantitative variables  were presented as mean ±SD. Frequencies & percentages were calculated for qualitative variables.

Results: The mean age of the patient was 45 + 14.32 years. Most of the patients were male i.e. 71 (65.1%).39 (36%) of the patients had child Pugh class- A, 33 (30.4%) had Class-B and 37 (33.6%) had Class-C. The most common indication of cirrhosis was ascites 87 (80%) followed by other indications. 57  (52.2%) of the patients had varices and most of the patients had grade-III varices. Age, gender, child pugh class, Splenomegaly, Portal Vein diameter, Serum Albumin (Alb), Serum Bilirubin (Bili), Platelet Counts, Hepatitis-B and Hepatitis-c were found to be significant non-endoscopic predictors of esophageal varices.

Conclusion: Our study concluded that non-invasive biochemical and radiological indicators can be utilized to detect varices without the need for endoscopic procedures.