Initial treatment approaches for nodular gastric antral vascular ectasia: A comparison of endoscopic band ligation and thermal therapies

Table 1 Patient characteristics at baseline

Characteristic	n = 37
Age	61.4
Gender
Female	38%
Male	62%
Race/ethnicity
Non-Hispanic white	89%
Non-Hispanic black	8%
Latino	3%
Other	0%
MELD
Pre-treatment	14.5
Post-treatment	13.6
Etiology
MASLD/MASH	55%
EtOH cirrhosis	32%
Other	13%
Comorbidities
Hyperlipidemia	35%
Chronic kidney disease	16%
BMI	33.9
Hemoglobin A1c	5.87
Medications
Proton pump inhibitor	97%
Oral	3%
Anticoagulation	19%
Antiplatelet

MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease; MASLD: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease; MASH: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis; BMI: Body mass index.

Table 2 Patient performance metrics

Characteristic		P value
Treatment interval (days)	499
Number of EGDs	3.51
Treatments
EBL	1.46
No. bands deployed	6.32
RFA	0.51
APC	1.49
Hemoglobin		< 0.001
Pre-treatment	8.7
Post-treatment	10.9
Ferritin		0.851
Pre-treatment	98.7
Post-treatment	90.2
Transferrin saturation		0.014
Pre-treatment	21.1
Post-treatment	47.8
Transfusions		< 0.001
Pre-treatment	1.55
Post-treatment	0.19
Hospitalizations		< 0.001
Pre-treatment	1.14
Post-treatment	0.24
Clinical remission rate	84.0%
Endoscopic remission rate	48.7%

EGD: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy; EBL: Endoscopic band ligation; RFA: Radiofrequency ablation; APC: Argon plasma coagulation.

Table 3 Comparison of performance metrics of initial endoscopic band and initial endoscopic thermal therapy

	Initial EBL	Initial ETT	P value
Number	21	16
Treatment interval (days)	172	928	0.007
Number of EGDs	1.95	5.56	0.005
Treatments
EBL	1.67	1.19	0.349
No. bands deployed	1.85	1.92	0.063
RFA	0.05	1.12	0.010
APC	0.29	1.5	0.026
Hemoglobin
Pre-treatment	8.7	8.6	0.949
Post-treatment	11.4	10.4	0.195
Transfusions
Pre-treatment	1.04	0.33	0.176
Post-treatment	1.29	0.08	0.255
Hospitalizations
Pre-treatment	1.15	0.15	0.630
Post-treatment	2.15	0.25	0.092
Clinical remission rate	90%	69%	0.041
Endoscopic remission rate	57.1%	37.5%	0.270

EBL: Endoscopic band ligation; ETT: Endoscopic thermal therapy; EGD: Esophagogastroduodenoscopy; RFA: Radiofrequency ablation; APC: Argon plasma coagulation.

Table 4 Comparison of patient characteristics between initial endoscopic band and initial endoscopic thermal therapy

	Initial EBL	Initial ETT	P value
Number	21	16
Age	63.6	59.1	0.343
Gender			0.751
Female	43%	31%
Male	57%	69%
Race/ethnicity			0.486
Non-Hispanic white	90%	88%
Non-Hispanic black	5%	12%
Latino	5%	0%
Other	0%	0%
MELD
Pre-treatment	14.9	14	0.531
Post-treatment	13.8	13.4	0.660
Etiology			0.639
MASLD/MASH	62%	50%
EtOH cirrhosis	33%	31%
Other	5%	19%
Comorbidities
Hyperlipidemia	29%	44%	0.359
Chronic kidney disease	14%	19%	0.669
BMI	34.7	32.8	0.778
Hemoglobin A1c	5.86	5.88	0.952
Medications
Proton pump inhibitor
Oral	95%	100%	0.329
Anticoagulation	5%	0%	0.329
Antiplatelet	29%	6%	0.069

EBL: Endoscopic band ligation; ETT: Endoscopic thermal therapy; MELD: Model for end-stage liver disease; MASLD: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease; MASH: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis; EtOH cirrhosis: Alcohol-associated cirrhosis; BMI: Body mass index.