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The role of endoscopic ultrasound for portal hypertension in liver cirrhosis

  • Special Feature: Review Article
  • Imaging-based diagnosis and management of cirrhosis/portal hypertension
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Abstract

Chronic liver disease is still a major problem because disease progression will ultimately lead to liver cirrhosis. Portal hypertension is the hallmark in advanced liver disease management. By establishing portal vein access, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has been utilized in various clinical applications. In comparison to standard upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, EUS-Doppler has been shown to be a better modality for detecting esophageal and gastric varices along with peri-esophageal collateral veins, para-esophageal collateral veins, and perforating veins, and may be used to objectively predict the recurrence of bleeding. EUS-guided portal vein catheterization has also been proposed to overcome the limitations of trans-jugular approaches. The combination of EUS-elastography and azygos vein evaluation can also enhance the diagnostic accuracy of each modality. Another well-known implementation of EUS-guided procedures is in the management of ascites; particularly in paracentesis and ascitic fluid analysis. In addition, the most common clinical application of EUS in the treatment of portal hypertension is through vascular therapy or creation of intrahepatic portosystemic shunts. Major drawbacks of EUS mainly revolve around technical difficulties, the high cost of the procedure, as well as the requirement of more studies in humans to evaluate EUS-guided advanced therapeutic modalities in portal hypertension.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hepatobiliary Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital, Medical Faculty Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

    Cosmas Rinaldi Adithya Lesmana, Maria Satya Paramitha & Rino A. Gani

  2. Digestive Disease and GI Oncology Center, Medistra Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia

    Cosmas Rinaldi Adithya Lesmana & Laurentius A. Lesmana

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  1. Cosmas Rinaldi Adithya Lesmana
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Correspondence to Cosmas Rinaldi Adithya Lesmana.

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Lesmana, C.R.A., Paramitha, M.S., Gani, R.A. et al. The role of endoscopic ultrasound for portal hypertension in liver cirrhosis. J Med Ultrasonics 49, 359–370 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-021-01165-4

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