Non Invasive Diagnosis of Esophageal Varices

Liver cirrhosis [LC] is the final evolutive stage of any chronic liver disease and it is a condition prone to multiple complications because of portal hypertension. Development of esophageal varices [EV] is a major complication that may occur in up to 90% of cirrhotic patients. Variceal bleeding occurs in 50%-60% cirrhotic patients. Re-bleeding occurs in 7%-16% despite endoscopic therapy. Mortality ranges between 3% and 14%. Therefore endoscopic screening for EV in LC patients is a strong recommendation in all consensus statements. The hypothesis behind this book is to review noninvasive parameters for prediction of EV.