Congestive gastropathy and other upper endoscopic findings in 81 consecutive patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation.

Abstract

Pretransplant endoscopic findings in 81 consecutive patients with nonalcoholic liver disease were examined to determine the spectrum of abnormalities encountered, with particular attention to mucosal changes consistent with congestive gastropathy. Abnormalities were observed in 75 patients (93%). Twenty-three patients (28%) had findings suggestive of congestive gastropathy: petechiae, focal and diffuse intense erythema, with or without erosions, edematous mucosa with a fine white reticulated or mosaic pattern, and cherry red spots resembling vascular malformations. Congestive gastropathy was the second most common abnormality identified after esophageal varices (66 patients, 81%). Other abnormalities included gastric varices in 13 patients (16%), esophagitis in seven (9%), gastric ulcers in six (7%), duodenal ulcer in 11 (14%), postsclerotherapy esophageal ulceration in 10 (12%), and a postsclerotherapy symptomatic esophageal stricture in one. The prevalence of congestive gastropathy has provided a stimulus for our prospective evaluation of gastric mucosal disease before and after liver transplantation or portosystemic shunt.