Endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of esophageal and gastric varices in patients with liver cirrhosis:from guidelines to clinical practice

Gastroesophageal variceal bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis is a common acute gastrointestinal disease in clinical practice with a high mortality rate, and endoscopy is a main method for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.Timely diagnosis and effective treatment with appropriate endoscopic techniques are the key to reducing mortality rate.With reference to related diagnosis and treatment guidelines and the latest clinical evidence for cirrhotic portal hypertension in China, this article summarizes the role of endoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal and gastric varices and bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis, including endoscopic screening and timing of treatment, selection of endoscopic sclerosing agents and endoscopic variceal ligation, salvage measures for endoscopic treatment failure, and complications and related treatment measures.Hepatic venous pressure gradient helps to improve the effect of endoscopy and/or drugs in the prevention and treatment of gastroesophageal variceal bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis.In a word, endoscopy is the main method for the diagnosis and treatment of gastroesophageal variceal bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis, and the research and application of factors for early prediction of the effect of endoscopic therapy and standardization of endoscopic diagnosis and treatment techniques are of great significance in improving the effect and safety of endoscopic therapy.