Related Experiment Videos
Absolute ethanol and 5% ethanolamine oleate are comparable for sclerotherapy of esophageal varices
J O Meirelles-Santos1, A F Carvalho, F Callejas-Neto
1Endoscopy Unit-Gastrocentro, Department of Surgery, Medical Genetics and Discipline of Clinical Gastroenterology, UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil.
Background:
Endoscopic sclerotherapy is widely accepted as an effective treatment for the eradication of esophageal varices in patients with portal hypertension and a history of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of absolute ethanol as an alternative sclerosing agent to the commonly used 5% ethanolamine oleate.
Methods:
One hundred fifty-seven patients with portal hypertension and a history of variceal bleeding were randomly assigned to sclerotherapy with absolute ethanol (n = 66) or 5% ethanolamine oleate (n = 91) between January 1992 and July 1994. Once eradication was achieved, these patients were prospectively followed until September 1998.
Results:
Sclerotherapy with both sclerosants resulted in similar eradication rates (approximately 90%), with comparable numbers of sessions required for eradication (5.4 and 5.9 sessions for absolute ethanol and 5% ethanolamine oleate, respectively). Similar complication and recurrent bleeding rates were observed among both groups.
Conclusion:
Sclerotherapy with absolute ethanol is as effective as with 5% ethanolamine oleate in preventing further bleeding in patients with portal hypertension.