Outcomes in Cirrhotic Patients with Variceal Bleeding Despite Primary Prophylaxis with a β-Blocker

Current guidelines recommend that patients with cirrhosis who have large varices but have not had an episode of variceal bleeding should receive primary prophylaxis with a nonselective β-blocker. For individuals who experience an episode of variceal bleeding despite such therapy, the addition of endoscopic band ligation is recommended to prevent rebleeding, but little is known about long-term outcomes.

In a single-center cohort study, researchers in Spain analyzed data for consecutive patients with cirrhosis who were admitted with a first acute variceal bleeding episode. Among the 89 eligible patients, 34 were receiving primary prophylaxis with a nonselective β-blocker (β-blocker group), and 55 were not (control group). All patients were sub…