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Better Rx for Cirrhosis-Linked Bleeding
Posted 23 Jun 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, June 23 – Patients with cirrhosis of the liver who suffer acute variceal bleeding have improved chances for survival if a shunt is used earlier rather than later, a new study finds. Variceal bleeding occurs when the pressure in the portal vein – the large vein that feeds the liver – becomes too high and causes bleeding in the surrounding vessels. It is a common complication of cirrhosis, where the liver is damaged. The standard treatment for most patients is to give them drugs to lower the blood pressure and put bands around the bleeding vessels to control the bleeding. "The early use of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) with covered stents improves survival of those patients with cirrhosis in whom the use of the current recommended therapy of acute variceal bleeding has a high probability of failure," said lead researcher Dr. Juan Carlos Garcia-Pagan, ... Read more
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