Approach to the management of bleeding esophageal varices: role of somatostatin.

Various treatment strategies have been used to control variceal bleeding, including drugs, esophageal tamponade, endoscopic sclerotherapy (ES), endoscopic variceal ligation, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt and emergency surgery. None of these procedures are ideal and treatment frequently requires a combination of techniques. Sclerotherapy is one of the most widely used methods to control variceal bleeding; however, success is largely dependent on an experienced endoscopist. Vasoactive drugs act by decreasing pressure and blood flow in the gastroesophageal collaterals and they offer the advantage of being administered by inexperienced personnel. Drugs currently used in the treatment of variceal hemorrhage include vasopressin, terlipressin, somatostatin and octreotide. In the clinical studies to date, somatostatin was more effective than vasopressin and as effective as terlipressin in the control of bleeding esophageal varices (BEV), with an improved safety profile. In contrast, octreotide has shown conflicting results and more data are required to support the drug in this indication. More recently the ABOVE (Acute Bleeding Esophageal Variceal Episodes) study has provided further evidence that early administration of vasoactive drugs such as somatostatin is significantly more effective than placebo in the overall control of acute BEV episodes in cirrhotic patients undergoing ES. Therefore, the administration of a vasoactive drug as early as possible before emergency sclerotherapy is recommended for the effective management of BEV.