Merck Manual

Please confirm that you are a health care professional

honeypot link

Varices

By

Parswa Ansari

, MD, Hofstra Northwell-Lenox Hill Hospital, New York

Reviewed/Revised May 2023
View PATIENT EDUCATION
Topic Resources

Varices are dilated veins in the distal esophagus or proximal stomach caused by elevated pressure in the portal venous system, typically from cirrhosis. They may bleed massively but cause no other symptoms. Diagnosis is by upper endoscopy. Treatment is primarily with endoscopic banding and IV octreotide. Sometimes a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting procedure is needed.

Portal hypertension Portal Hypertension Portal hypertension is elevated pressure in the portal vein. It is caused most often by cirrhosis (in North America), schistosomiasis (in endemic areas), or hepatic vascular abnormalities. Consequences... read more results from a number of conditions, predominantly liver cirrhosis Cirrhosis Cirrhosis is a late stage of hepatic fibrosis that has resulted in widespread distortion of normal hepatic architecture. Cirrhosis is characterized by regenerative nodules surrounded by dense... read more . If portal pressure remains higher than inferior vena caval pressure for a significant period, venous collaterals develop. The most dangerous collaterals occur in the distal esophagus and gastric fundus, causing engorged, serpentine submucosal vessels known as varices. These varices partially decompress portal hypertension but can rupture, causing massive gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. The trigger for variceal rupture is unknown, but bleeding almost never occurs unless the portal/systemic pressure gradient is > 12 mm Hg. Coagulopathies caused by liver disease may facilitate bleeding.

Pearls & Pitfalls

  • Nasogastric tube passage in a patient with varices has not been shown to trigger bleeding.

Symptoms and Signs of Varices

Patients typically present with sudden, painless, upper GI bleeding, often massive. Signs of shock Symptoms and Signs Shock is a state of organ hypoperfusion with resultant cellular dysfunction and death. Mechanisms may involve decreased circulating volume, decreased cardiac output, and vasodilation, sometimes... read more may be present. Bleeding is usually from the distal esophagus, less often from the gastric fundus. Bleeding from gastric varices also may be acute but is more often subacute or chronic.

Bleeding into the GI tract may precipitate portal-systemic encephalopathy in patients with impaired hepatic function.

Diagnosis of Varices

  • Endoscopy

  • Evaluation for coagulopathy

(See also the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy's 2014 guidelines on the role of endoscopy in the management of variceal hemorrhage.)

Both esophageal and gastric varices are best diagnosed by endoscopy, which may also identify varices at high risk of bleeding (eg, those with red markings). Endoscopy is also critical to exclude other causes of acute bleeding (eg, peptic ulcer), even in patients known to have varices; perhaps as many as one third of patients with known varices who have upper GI bleeding have a nonvariceal source.

Because varices are typically associated with significant hepatic disease, evaluation for possible coagulopathy is important. Laboratory tests include complete blood count (CBC) with platelets, prothrombin time (PT), partial thromboplastin time (PTT), and liver tests. Bleeding patients should have type and cross-match for multiple (typically ≥ 6) units of packed red blood cells.

Pearls & Pitfalls

  • Because up to one third of bleeding in patients with known varices has a nonvariceal source, exclude nonvariceal sources using endoscopy.

Treatment of Varices

  • Airway management and fluid resuscitation, including blood transfusion if needed

  • Endoscopic banding (sclerotherapy second choice)

  • IV octreotide

  • Sometimes antibiotics

  • Possibly a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting (TIPS) procedure

Patients with known cirrhosis with GI bleeding are at risk of bacterial infection and should receive antibiotic prophylaxis with norfloxacin or ceftriaxone.

If a patient taking a nonselective beta-blocker (eg, propanolol) has active hemorrhage and hypotension, the beta-blocker should be stopped.

Because varices are diagnosed only during endoscopy, the primary treatment is endoscopic. Endoscopic banding of varices is preferred over injection sclerotherapy. At the same time, IV octreotide (a synthetic analog of somatostatin, which may also be used) should be given (2 Treatment references Varices are dilated veins in the distal esophagus or proximal stomach caused by elevated pressure in the portal venous system, typically from cirrhosis. They may bleed massively but cause no... read more Treatment references ). Octreotide increases splanchnic vascular resistance by inhibiting the release of splanchnic vasodilator hormones (eg, glucagon, vasoactive intestinal peptide). The usual dose is a 50-mcg IV bolus, followed by infusion of 50 mcg/hour. Octreotide is preferred over previously used agents such as vasopressin and terlipressin, because it has fewer adverse effects.

If bleeding continues or recurs despite these measures, emergency techniques to shunt blood from the portal system to the vena cava can lower portal pressure and diminish bleeding. A TIPS procedure is the emergency intervention of choice. TIPS is an invasive radiologic procedure in which a guidewire is passed from the vena cava through the liver parenchyma into the portal circulation. The resultant passage is dilated by a balloon catheter, and a metallic stent is inserted, creating a bypass between the portal and hepatic venous circulations. Stent size is crucial. If the stent is too large, portal-systemic encephalopathy results because of diversion of too much portal blood flow from the liver. If the stent is too small, it is more likely to occlude. Surgical portacaval shunts, such as the distal spleno-renal shunt, work by a similar mechanism but are more invasive and have a higher immediate mortality.

Mechanical compression of bleeding varices with a Sengstaken-Blakemore tube or one of its variants causes considerable morbidity and should not be used as primary management. However, such a tube may provide life-saving tamponade pending decompression with a TIPS or surgical procedure. The tube is a flexible nasogastric tube with one gastric balloon and one esophageal balloon. After insertion, the gastric balloon is inflated with a fixed volume of air, and traction is applied to the tube to pull the balloon snugly against the gastroesophageal junction. This balloon is often sufficient to control bleeding, but, if not, the esophageal balloon is inflated to a pressure of 25 mm Hg. The procedure is quite uncomfortable and may result in esophageal perforation and aspiration; thus, endotracheal intubation and IV sedation are often recommended.

More recently, expandable metal esophageal stents have been used successfully to tamponade bleeding.

Liver transplantation can also decompress the portal system but is a practical option only for patients already on a transplant list.

Splenectomy is done to treat gastric variceal bleeding due to splenic vein thrombosis (sometimes a sequela of pancreatitis).

Treatment references

  • 1. Mohanty A, Kapuria D, Canakis A, et al: Fresh frozen plasma transfusion in acute variceal haemorrhage: Results from a multicentre cohort study. Liver Int 41(8):1901–1908, 2021. doi: 10.1111/liv.14936

  • 2. Boregowda U, Umapathy C, Halim N, et al: Update on the management of gastrointestinal varices. World J Gastrointest Pharmacol Ther 10(1):1–21, 2019. doi: 10.4292/wjgpt.v10.i1.1

Prognosis for Varices

In about 40% of patients, variceal bleeding stops spontaneously.

Previously, mortality was > 50%, but even with current management, mortality is at least 20% at 6 weeks. Mortality depends primarily on severity of the associated liver disease rather than on the bleeding itself. Bleeding is often fatal in patients with severe hepatocellular impairment (eg, advanced cirrhosis), whereas patients with good hepatic reserve usually recover.

Surviving patients are at high risk of further variceal bleeding; typically, 50 to 75% have recurrence within 1 to 2 years. Ongoing endoscopic or drug therapy (ie, endoscopic banding or nonselective beta-blockers) significantly lowers this risk, but the overall effect on long-term mortality seems to be marginal, probably because of the underlying hepatic disease.

Key Points

  • Varices are the main but not the only cause of GI bleeding in patients with cirrhosis.

  • The severity of the underlying liver disease is a major determinant of mortality of a bleeding episode.

  • Endoscopy is done for diagnosis and treatment; banding or sclerotherapy can be used.

  • Recurrence rate of variceal bleeding is 50 to 75% within 1 to 2 years.

More Information

The following English-language resource may be useful. Please note that THE MANUAL is not responsible for the content of this resource.

Drugs Mentioned In This Article

Drug Name Select Trade
Bynfezia, Mycapssa, Sandostatin, Sandostatin LAR
Ceftri-IM , Ceftrisol Plus, Rocephin
BAQSIMI, GlucaGen, Glucagon, Gvoke, Gvoke HypoPen, Gvoke PFS
Pitressin, Vasostrict
TERLIVAZ
View PATIENT EDUCATION
NOTE: This is the Professional Version. CONSUMERS: View Consumer Version
quiz link

Test your knowledge

Take a Quiz! 
iOS ANDROID
iOS ANDROID
iOS ANDROID
TOP