Approaches to the endoscopic treatment of esophageal varices

Endoscopic therapy is commonly employed for both initial and subsequent definitive treatment of variceal bleeding. Sclerotherapy performed with a flexible endoscope is currently the most widespread technique. Available data suggests that such treatment does not improve outcome in the acute treatment of variceal bleeding (first 30 days) but appears superior to conventional medical management in the long term. Sclerotherapy does not appear better or worse than pharmacological therapy or surgical therapy when these treatments are compared in the elective setting. Although effective, endoscopic sclerotherapy is recognized to be associated with many major and minor treatment-related complications and a significant incidence of recurrent hemorrhage. In response to these shortcomings newer forms of endoscopic therapy such as polymer injection and endoscopic ligation have been developed. Polymer injection appears well suited for patients with active bleeding and for those with gastric varices but does not have advantages for chronic treatment aimed at variceal eradication. Endoscopic ligation appears at least as effective as conventional sclerotherapy for control of acute bleeding and prevention of rebleeding and is associated with few treatment induced complications. While endoscopic therapy will likely continue as the most commonly employed treatment for patients with hemorrhage from esophageal varices, newer methods with wider margins of safety and efficacy seem destined to supplement or replace conventional endoscopic sclerotherapy.