Improved Survival Following Injection Sclerotherapy for Esophageal Varices: Final Analysis of A Controlled Trial

Abstract

Long–term follow–up (median: 37 months; range: 19 to 68) of the 116 patients (56 sclerotherapy, 60 control group) entered into a controlled trial of endoscopic variceal sclerotherapy has shown a total of 18 deaths in the sclerotherapy group, including five from variceal bleeding compared with 32 deaths in the control group (p < 0.01), of which 25 were from variceal hemorrhage (p < 0.001). Survival as assessed by cumulative life analysis was significantly better in those treated by sclerotherapy (p < 0.001). Both the cumulative proportion of patients rebleeding and the total number of episodes of variceal hemorrhage were also significantly less in the sclerotherapy group (p < 0.01). Recurrence of varices was observed in 27 of 45 patients in whom variceal obliteration was initially observed at a median of 11 months (range: 2 to 27) later, although in only 12 of these did bleeding recur and was the cause of death in one.