[Current situation of screening, prevention and treatment of bleeding esophageal varices in cirrhotic portal hypertension in Tibet region: a multicenter study]

Objective: To investigate and analyze the current situation, screening, clinical characteristics, prevention and treatment of bleeding esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension in Tibet region. Methods: Clinical data of cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension through March 2017 to February 2020 from Tibet region were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Results: 511 cases with liver cirrhosis were included in the study, of which 185 cases (36.20%) had compensated cirrhosis and 326 cases (63.80%) had decompensated cirrhosis. Further analysis of the etiological data of liver cirrhosis showed that 306 cases (59.88%) were of chronic hepatitis B, 113 cases (22.11%) of alcoholic liver disease, and 68 cases (13.31%) of chronic hepatitis B combined with alcoholic liver disease. Among patients with compensated liver cirrhosis, 48 cases (25.95%) underwent endoscopic examination of which 33 diagnosed as high-risk variceal bleeding. However, none of these 33 cases had received non-selective β-blocker therapy, and only four patients had received endoscopic variceal banding therapy. Among patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis, 83 cases (25.46%) had a history of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, 297 cases (91.10%) had ascites, 23 cases (7.05%) had hepatic encephalopathy, and 3 cases (0.92%) had hepatorenal syndrome. Among the patients with a history of upper gastrointestinal bleeding, 42 cases (50.60%) had received secondary preventive treatment for bleeding esophageal varices, including 39 cases of endoscopic treatment, 1 case of endoscopic combined drug treatment, 3 cases of interventional treatment, and 2 cases of surgical treatment. Conclusion: Chronic hepatitis B and alcoholic liver diseases are the main causes of liver cirrhosis in Tibet region. Moreover, this region lacks screening, prevention and treatment for bleeding esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the screening of high-risk groups to prevent and improve the first-time bleeding, and promote multidisciplinary team to prevent and treat re-bleeding.