0000000000769896
AUTHOR
Marco Peralta
Child-Pugh Class and Not Thrombocytopenia Impacts the Risk of Complications of Endoscopic Band Ligation in Patients with Cirrhosis and High Risk Varices
Background and Aims: Endoscopic band legation (EBL) is an effective method for the prophylaxis of acute variceal bleeding (AVB). This procedure may be associated with several complications, particularly bleeding. Our analysis aimed to evaluate the risk of complications due to EBL in a cohort of patients who underwent EBL for the prophylaxis of variceal bleeding and the eventual presence of risk predictors. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analysed data from consecutive patients who underwent EBL in a primary prophylaxis regimen. For all patients, simultaneously with EBL, we recorded the Child–Pugh and MELD score, platelet count and US features of portal hypertension. Results: We col…
Survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated by percutaneous radio-frequency ablation (RFA) is affected by complete radiological response.
Background: Radio-frequency ablation (RFA) has been employed in the treatment of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) early stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as curative treatments. Aim: To assess the effectiveness and the safety of RFA in patients with early HCC and compensated cirrhosis. Methods: A cohort of 151 consecutive patients with early stage HCC (122 Child-Pugh class A and 29 class B patients) treated with RFA were enrolled. Clinical, laboratory and radiological follow-up data were collected from the time of first RFA. A single lesion was observed in 113/151 (74.8%), two lesions in 32/151 (21.2%), and three lesions in 6/151 (4%) of patients. Results: The overall survival rates …
Natural history of untreatable hepatocellular carcinoma: A retrospective cohort study
Abstract AIM: To investigate the clinical course of untreatable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) identified at any stage and to identify factors associated with mortality. METHODS: From January 1999 to December 2010, 320 out of 825 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of HCC and not appropriate for curative or palliative treatments were followed and managed with supportive therapy. Cirrhosis was diagnosed by histological or clinical features and liver function was evaluated according to Child-Pugh score. The diagnosis of HCC was performed by Ultra-Sound guided biopsy or by multiphasic contrast-enhanced computed tomography or gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. Data were collected…