• Dalenda Arfaoui, Héla Elloumi, and Salem Ajmi.
• Service d'hépatogastroentérologie CHU Sahloul Sousse, Tunisie.
• Tunis Med. 2004 Oct 1;82(10):947-50.

AimsTo asses the value of octreotide in the control of acute bleeding esophageal varices in a retrospective study.MethodologyFourty two patients admitted for esophageal variceal bleeding confirmed at endoscopy were recruited. An initial 50 micrograms bolus of octreotide followed by a two day continuous infusion of 25 micrograms/h were evaluated for the control of bleeding.ResultsTwenty nine patients were endoscopic stigmata of recent bleeding and thirteen were active bleeding at emergency endoscopy. Octreotide was found to be effective regarding hemostasis at 48 hours and on day 7 after the index bleeding episode. 30-day mortality was 11.9%. Echec of octreotide was significantly associated with severity of cirrhosis (p<0.03).ConclusionThese results suggest that octreotide is effective in the treatment of esophageal variceal bleeding and it is a valuable adjuvant treatment in association with endoscopic management.

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