Balloon-occluded Esophageal Varices Obliteration Versus Ligation for the Management of F2 Esophageal Varices: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Aim: To compare balloon-occluded esophageal varices obliteration (BEVO) with esophageal variceal ligation (EVL) in the management of cirrhotic patients with type F2 esophageal varices (F2-EVs). Materials and methods: A total of 157 patients with F2-EVs were randomly assigned to either BEVO (n=79) or EVL (n=78) group in the prospective study between July 2021 and December 2021. Primary outcomes included recurrence and eradication rates. Secondary outcomes included rebleeding rate, and procedural complications. Results: The recurrence rate of EVs was notably lower in the BEVO group than in the EVL group (3.80% vs. 21.79%; P=0.001). The rate of complete eradication in the BEVO group was significantly higher than that of the EVL group (96.20% vs. 74.36%; P<0.001). The incidence of rebleeding in the BEVO group was markedly lower than that of the EVL group (7.59% vs. 20.51%; P=0.02). There was a higher incidence of transient dysphagia in the EVL group than in the BEVO group (10.26% vs. 1.27%; P=0.015). Conclusions: BEVO exerted an effective treatment option for F2-EVs.