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DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-104521
Endoscopic ultrasound-guided hemostasis of rectal varices
Publikationsverlauf
Publikationsdatum:
22. März 2017 (online)
![](https://www.thieme-connect.de/media/endoscopy/2017S01/lookinside/thumbnails/0069_10-1055-s-0043-104521-1.jpg)
The prevalence of rectal varices in patients with cirrhosis ranges from 38 % to 56 % [1]. While lower gastrointestinal endoscopy can help diagnose rectal varices, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) may be more accurate in patients with smaller varices [1]. Reports are limited, but techniques for EUS-guided hemostasis of rectal varices include: injection sclerotherapy [2], band ligation [3], embolization with coils [4], and glue injection [4] [5]. Interventional radiology procedures, such as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting and balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration, are helpful only in selected patients. Here we describe a unique case of EUS-guided hemostasis of rectal varices using coils and glue.
Our patient was a 54-year-old man with a history of chronic hepatitis C (genotype 1b, treatment-naïve) who presented with a 1-month history of hematochezia. His vital signs were blood pressure of 120/70 mmHg and heart rate of 70 beats per minute. Initial laboratory tests revealed the following results: hemoglobin 9.1 g/dL, platelets 67 000/µL, and he had a MELD score of 11.
Colonoscopy revealed large rectal varices. On EUS, a grape-like bunch of rectal varices was seen, which showed sluggish blood flow on Doppler exam. It was decided to treat the varices with embolization coils and glue. A 22-gauge EUS-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) needle (EchoTip Ultra; Cook Medical, Limerick, Ireland) and embolization coils (MicroNester; Cook Medical, Bjaeverskov, Denmark) were used.
The EUS-FNA needle was used to puncture the feeder vessel. One 10-mm × 7-cm coil was anchored into the wall of the feeder vessel and deployed into the lumen under sonographic guidance ([Fig. 1]). Another 10-mm × 7-cm embolization coil was similarly deployed in an adjacent feeder vessel. A further medium varix was identified, and an 8-mm × 14-cm embolization coil was deployed, giving a total of three coils deployed in two columns. Endoscopy showed the proximal end of the coil anchored in the rectal mucosa ([Fig. 2]). Under direct endoscopic view with EUS assistance, 0.8 mL of n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate glue (Covidien SwiftSet; United Kingdom) was injected into the rectal varix at the site of coil deployment. Doppler examination confirmed a reduction in blood flow after coil placement and glue injection ([Video 1]).
![](https://www.thieme-connect.de/media/endoscopy/2017S01/thumbnails/10-1055-s-0043-104521-i0069cl1.jpg)
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Qualität:
At 4-week follow-up, our patient reported no further rectal bleeding and his hemoglobin was stable. There were no procedural complications.
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* Joint first authors
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References
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- 2 Connor EK, Duran-Castro OL, Attam R. Therapy for recurrent bleeding from rectal varices by EUS-guided sclerosis. Gastrointest Endosc 2015; 81: 1280-1281
- 3 Sharma M, Rai P, Bansal R. EUS-assisted evaluation of rectal varices before banding. Gastroenterol Res Pract 2013; 2013: 619187
- 4 Weilert F, Shah JN, Marson FP. et al. EUS-guided coil and glue for bleeding rectal varix. Gastrointest Endosc 2012; 76: 915-916
- 5 Sharma M, Somasundaram A. Massive lower GI bleed from an endoscopically inevident rectal varices: diagnosis and management by EUS (with videos). Gastrointest Endosc 2010; 72: 1106-1108