Frequency of rectal varices in patients with cirrhosis

ABSTRACT

To document the frequency of rectal varices in patients with cirrhosis of liver and compare it with that of oesophageal varices in liver and to compare the frequency of rectal varices with non-cirrhotic controls. Design: A cross-sectional analytical survey. Place and Duration of Study The study was conducted in the medical wards of Civil Hospital, Karachi from August 2000 to July 2001. Patients and All patients of confirmed cirrhosis of liver, presenting during the study period, were selected for initial workup. On the basis of upper gastrointestinal [GI] endoscopy, patients were segregated into those with oesophageal varices [Group-A] and those without them [Group-B]. A matched control group [Group-C] was added, which consisted of patients of irritable bowel syndrome [IBS] who underwent sigmoidoscopic/colonoscopic examination during the study period. Fiberoptic sigmoidoscopy was done in all selected patients. Statistical analysis for continuous variables was done by student's 't' test while non-continuous variables were analyzed by Mann-Whitney-U test. A total of 104 patients [males 61; females 43] were included. Hepatic encephalopathy grade was significantly lower in Group-B [p < 0.0001]. Grade-I varices were seen in 13 patients, Grade-II in 38 and Grade-III in 33 patients of Group-A. Rectal varices were present in 59.9% of patients in Group-A as compared to Group-B in which no one had them [p<0.0001]. Rectal varices are common in patients of portal hypertention