Clinical effect of Liqi Jianpi prescription in preventing hemorrhage within one year in patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis and severe esophageal and gastric varices

Objective To investigate the effect of Liqi Jianpi prescription on the risk of hemorrhage within one year in patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis and severe esophageal and gastric varices. Methods The patients who were hospitalized in Beijing Ditan Hospital from January2010 to August 2017 and were diagnosed with hepatitis B cirrhosis and esophageal and gastric varices were enrolled and divided into treatment group and control group. All patients were given conventional treatment, and the patients in the treatment group were given oral Liqi Jianpi decoction in addition to the conventional treatment. The incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding within one year was observed, and liver function, gastroscopy findings, and Child-Pugh class were observed before and after treatment. The t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups; the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. Results There was a significant difference in the rate of esophagogastric variceal bleeding within one year between the treatment group and the control group ( 19. 2%vs 38. 5%, χ2= 4. 112, P = 0. 038) . The treatment group had a significant change in serum albumin level after treatment ( t = 0. 934, P <0. 05) , and there was a significant difference in serum albumin level between the two groups after treatment ( t = 2. 928, P < 0. 05) . In the treatment group, portal vein width decreased significantly from 14. 1 ± 2. 7 mm before treatment to 12. 2 ± 2. 4 mm after treatment ( t =2. 829, P < 0. 01) ; in the control group, portal vein width was 14. 6 ± 2. 8 mm before treatment and 14. 3 ± 2. 5 mm after treatment ( t =0. 718, P < 0. 05) . After treatment, the treatment group had a significantly smaller portal vein width than the control group ( t = 1. 715, P <0. 05) . In the treatment group, the number of patients with red color sign decreased significantly from 20 before treatment to 9 after treatment ( χ2= 0. 884, P = 0. 08) ; after treatment, the degree of esophageal and gastric varices was alleviated, and the number of patients with severe varices decreased from 52 before treatment to 38 after treatment ( χ2= 0. 982, P = 0. 038) . Conclusion In patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis and severe esophageal and gastric varices, Liqi Jianpi prescription can reduce the incidence rate of upper gastrointestinal bleeding within one year, improve liver function, reduce portal vein width, and improve the degree of esophageal and gastric varices.