Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of patients with GOV1s—arranged according to the changes in cardiac varices after eradication of esophageal varices by endoscopic band ligation.
| Patients with disappearance of cardiac varices (n = 55) | Patients with persistent cardiac varices (n = 30) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 60.1 ± 11.0 | 57.8 ± 12.2 | 0.295 |
| Male, n (%) | 44 (80.0) | 25 (83.3) | 0.707 |
| Etiology, n (%) | 0.711 | ||
| Hepatitis B virus | 23 (41.8) | 9 (30.9) | |
| Hepatitis C virus | 4 (7.3) | 2 (6.7) | |
| Alcohol | 21 (38.2) | 15 (50.0) | |
| Others | 7 (12.7) | 4 (13.3) | |
| Purpose of EBL, n (%) | 0.643 | ||
| Primary prophylaxis | 34 (61.8) | 17 (56.7) | |
| Secondary prophylaxis | 21 (38.2) | 13 (43.3) | |
| Size of EVs | 0.235 | ||
| F2 | 44 (80.0) | 27 (90.0) | |
| F3 | 11 (20.0) | 3 (10.0) | |
| Red color sign on EVs, n (%) | 54 (98.2) | 28 (93.3) | 0.247 |
| Size of cardiac varices, cm | 1.0 ± 0.2 | 1.1 ± 0.3 | 0.046 |
| Number of EBL sessions | 2.5 ± 0.9 | 2.3 ± 0.7 | 0.226 |
| Number of used rubber bands | 8.1 ± 2.8 | 7.5 ± 2.7 | 0.342 |
| Duration until EVs eradiation, months | 2.7 ± 1.3 | 2.2 ± 1.0 | 0.105 |
| Red color sign on cardiac varices, n (%) | 1 (1.8) | 1 (3.3) | 0.660 |
| Platelet count, ×109/L | 88.7 ± 43.3 | 84.9 ± 50.3 | 0.716 |
| INR | 1.3 ± 0.2 | 1.4 ± 0.4 | 0.265 |
| AST, IU/L | 79.0 ± 204.4 | 135.1 ± 235.0 | 0.255 |
| ALT, IU/L | 36.6 ± 45.6 | 61.3 ± 87.5 | 0.157 |
| Bilirubin, mg/dL | 1.4 ± 1.1 | 2.1 ± 1.9 | 0.075 |
| Albumin, g/dL | 3.3 ± 0.6 | 3.2 ± 0.6 | 0.557 |
| Creatinine, mg/dL | 1.1 ± 1.3 | 0.9 ± 0.3 | 0.428 |
| Sodium, mEq/L | 137.7 ± 5.1 | 137.8 ± 4.1 | 0.971 |
| Ascites, n (%) | 29 (52.7) | 20 (66.7) | 0.214 |
| HE, n (%) | 5 (9.1) | 4 (13.3) | 0.544 |
| Child-Pugh score | 7.1 ± 1.7 | 7.5 ± 1.9 | 0.242 |
| Child-Pugh classification, n (%) | 0.647 | ||
| Grade A | 24 (43.6) | 10 (33.3) | |
| Grade B | 26 (47.3) | 17 (56.7) | |
| Grade C | 5 (9.1) | 3 (10.0) |
AST: aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: alanine aminotransferase; EBL: endoscopic band ligation; EVs: esophageal varices; GOVs: gastroesophageal varices; INR: international normalized ratio.