In Iraqi cirrhotic patients, can oesophageal variceal bleeding make child pugh score more predictive of outcome and mortality

الملخص EN

Background : variceal bleeding is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with liver failure (i.e.

acute and chronic) cases.

Aim of Study : to evaluate the prognostic value of Variceal bleeding in addition to Child Pugh Score (CPS).

Materials and Methods : A hospital based cross sectional study was carried out on patients with chronic liver failure attending Babylon Gastrointestinal and Hepatology Centre.

Results : A total of 1786 patients with liver diseases were seen at the tertiary hospital, 127 (7.11 %) were with chronic liver failure.

The overall mean age of those patients with chronic liver failure with bleeding presentation was 47.62 ± 17.14 years and of those patients without bleeding presentation was 49.50 ± 15.10 years.

Majority (65.4 %) of patients were male and (92.1 %) of patients were married.

Majority (45.7 %) of patients with chronic liver failure were from Al-Hillah city.

Majority (55.1 %) of patients with chronic liver failure were presenting with abnormal liver tests followed by ascites (24.4 %) and bleeding (20.5 %).

Majority (58.3%) of the patients with chronic liver failure their primary aetiology were viral infection.

Meanwhile, HBV was constituted (31.5 %) of all primary aetiology followed by HCV (26.8 %).

Majority (59.0 %) of patients with chronic liver failure were class A, meanwhile only (33.9 %) and (7.1 %) were class B and C, respectively.

there were significant associations between haemorrhagic presenting feature with CPC and primary aetiology.

Conclusion : the findings support the importance and significance of the prognostic and predictive value of variceal bleeding in the assessment of patients with chronic liver diseases for further treatment, liver transplantation or the overall mortality.

The additive value of variceal bleeding to CPS is still to be defined and formalized and further work is needed to address this important issue.