Gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with chronic liver disease: a review.

Most patients with decompensated liver disease who bleed from the gastrointestinal tract bleed from gastroesophageal varices or gastritis (congestive gastropathy). While a variety of pharmacologic and physical therapies are available, optimal treatment and effective prevention of gastrointestinal bleeding have yet to be delineated. In this review, current therapies are compared, as is the effectiveness of prophylaxis. A major problem with evaluating the literature continues to be the disparity between "comparable control groups" using similar protocols.