Everett BT, Lidofsky SD. Adherence to surveillance endoscopy following hospitalization for index esophageal variceal hemorrhage. World J Gastrointest Surg 2018; 10(4): 40-48 [PMID: 29707105 DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v10.i4.40]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Steven D Lidofsky, MD, PhD, Professor, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Unit, University of Vermont Medical Center, Smith 251, 111 Colchester Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401, United States. steven.lidofsky@uvm.edu
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Surg. Apr 27, 2018; 10(4): 40-48 Published online Apr 27, 2018. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v10.i4.40
Adherence to surveillance endoscopy following hospitalization for index esophageal variceal hemorrhage
Brendan T Everett, Steven D Lidofsky
Brendan T Everett, Steven D Lidofsky, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Unit, University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
Author contributions: Everett BT acquired and analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript with Lidofsky SD, who designed the study.
Institutional review board statement: The study design was reviewed and approved by the University of Vermont Institutional Review Board (CHRMS 15-134) with a waiver of informed consent.
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study as the research involved no more than minimal risk to the individual. Waiver of consent was approved by the University of Vermont Institutional Review Board.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts-of-interest related to this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Steven D Lidofsky, MD, PhD, Professor, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Unit, University of Vermont Medical Center, Smith 251, 111 Colchester Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401, United States. steven.lidofsky@uvm.edu
Telephone: +1-802-8472554 Fax: +1-802-8474928
Received: February 6, 2018 Peer-review started: February 7, 2018 First decision: February 28, 2018 Revised: March 9, 2018 Accepted: April 11, 2018 Article in press: April 11, 2018 Published online: April 27, 2018 Processing time: 78 Days and 11.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: We investigated adherence to surveillance endoscopy in 99 consecutive patients with cirrhosis who survived esophageal variceal bleeding, and the extent to which adherence influenced outcomes. We found that the minority (33%) completed variceal obliteration and fewer (12%) underwent annual surveillance. Completion of obliteration was associated with fewer and later rehospitalizations for variceal rebleeding. Those non-adherent to annual surveillance were more likely to be uninsured or to have coverage through Medicaid assistance. Our findings identify potential markers for socioeconomic factors that limit endoscopic adherence following variceal hemorrhage and lead to adverse outcomes. New approaches are needed to overcome barriers to adherence.
