Assessment of Right Lobe Size/Serum Albumin Ratio as A non-Invasive Marker for EsophagealVarices in HCV Patients

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of chronic liver disease infecting more than 170 million people worldwide. HCV produces a wide gamut of manifestations varying from mild self-limiting disease to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma Esophageal varices development is among the major complications of liver cirrhosis, with an estimated prevalence of approximately 50%. The risk of bleeding from varices is 25%-35% with majority of the initial bleeding occurring within 1 year from varices detection. The mortality from each episode of variceal bleeding is 17%-57%. The incidence of bleeding can be reduced with nonselective beta-blockers. It is also suggested that prophylactic endoscopic variceal ligation can decrease the incidence of first variceal bleeding and mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis who have large varices. Therefore, annual endoscopic screening is highly recommended for patients with small esophageal varices while the procedure should be conducted once every two years for patients suffering from liver cirrhosis without diagnosed varices. Nevertheless, repeated endoscopic examinations are unpleasant