Ectopic variceal bleeding after hepatobiliary surgery: A case report

Unusual causes of gastrointestinal bleeding in the intensive care unit through the radiology lens

The great majority of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for critical gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) will have a predictable etiology. Once the site is localized to the upper versus the lower gastrointestinal tract, the number of typically encountered etiological possibilities is quite limited. On rare occasions, the cause of GIB requiring ICU care is not one of the standard considerations, potentially leading to diagnostic and therapeutic delays. Within a short time period, three patients were admitted to our institution's medical ICU each with a different unexpected cause of GIB. All three cases generated a variety of instructive images, which are used in the present series to illustrate these conditions and the role of radiology in their evaluation and management.

Management of ectopic intestinal variceal bleeding following pancreatic transplant: Two cases

Ectopic variceal bleeding is a potentially under recognized source of gastrointestinal (GI) hemorrhage. While vascular complications following pancreatic transplant are relatively common, the development of symptomatic ectopic venous varices has rarely been reported. We report two patients with a remote history of simultaneous kidney pancreas transplant (SPK) presenting two decades after transplant with an occult GI bleed. In both cases, a lengthy diagnostic course was required. The varices were treated with coil embolization via transhepatic approach. Our findings add to the limited literature on this topic and aid in the recognition, diagnosis, and management of this unusual presentation.

Endoscopic Cyanoacrylate Glue Injection for Duodenal Varices—A Single-Center Study

Aim/Objectives Duodenal varices (DVs), although rare, can present with massive, potentially fatal upper gastrointestinal bleeding; however, there are no randomized trials regarding management of this relatively uncommon presentation. We aim to report our experience with endoscopic cyanoacrylate glue injection in patients with DVs.

Materials and Methods We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of all patients with portal hypertension at our center between January 2010 and December 2021. Demographic characteristics along with the etiology, location, and effectiveness of cyanoacrylate glue injection for bleeding DVs were collected and analyzed.

Results A total of 5,892 patients with portal hypertension underwent endoscopy during the study period, of whom 41 patients (M:F = 29:12) with mean age of 38 years were noted to have DVs. While extrahepatic portal vein obstruction was the commonest etiology (n = 26), the most common site of DVs was the duodenal bulb (n = 21). Twenty-one (51%) out of these 41 patients presented primarily with DV bleeding and underwent endoscopic cyanoacrylate glue injection with successful hemostasis achieved of the index bleed; however, four of these 21 patients had rebleeding between 2 weeks and 12 months of follow-up requiring repeat endotherapy.. While three patients underwent successful repeat glue injections, one patient had recurrent massive bleedings, not amenable to endotherapy and was subjected to duodenal resection with surgical shunt procedure.

Conclusion While the prevalence of DVs in portal hypertension patients was 0.7% (41/5892), DVs accounted for 0.42% (21/4889) of portal hypertension-related bleedings. Endotherapy with cyanoacrylate glue appears to be a safe and cost-effective treatment for acute DV bleeding in a resource-limited setting.