Gastroenterology
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Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Emergency sclerotherapy versus vasoactive drugs for variceal bleeding in cirrhosis: a Cochrane meta-analysis.
Emergency sclerotherapy is used as a first-line therapy for variceal bleeding in cirrhosis, although pharmacologic treatment stops bleeding in most patients. We performed a meta-analysis comparing emergency sclerotherapy with pharmacologic treatment. ⋯ Available evidence does not support emergency sclerotherapy as the first-line treatment of variceal bleeding in cirrhosis when compared with vasoactive drugs, which control bleeding in 83% of patients. Therefore, endoscopic therapy might be added only in pharmacologic treatment failures.