Effects of diabetes on rebleeding after endoscopic treatment in liver cirrhosis patients with esophageal varices

Objective To investigate whether combined diabetes affects rebleeding after endoscopic treatment in cirrhosis patients with esophageal varices. Methods A total of 207 liver cirrhosis cases with esophageal varices bleeding who underwent initial treatment of endoscopic variced ligation or endoscopic injection sclerotherapy in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from June 2015 to March 2018 were included in the retrospective study. The cases were divided into bleeding group (n=54) and non-bleeding group (n=153) according to the presence or absence of rebleeding within 6 months after treatment. The influencing factors on postoperative bleeding were analyzed by univariate analysis and logistic regession analysis. Results Univariate analysis showed that gender composition, age, presence or absence of portal vein thrombosis, smoking history, drinking history (P=0.05), hypertension, platelet count, total bilirubin level, albumin level, alanine aminotransferase level, prothrombin time, degree of esophageal varices, and surgical methods were not significantly different (all P≥0.05) between the bleeding group and the non-bleeding group. There were significant differences in diabetes, hemoglobin level, blood glucose level, ascites composition, and liver function grade composition between the two groups (all P<0.05). Combined diabetes (yes/no), hemoglobin levels, blood glucose levels, ascites (none-mild/medium-severe), liver function Child-Pugh classification (Grade A/B-C), and history of drinking (yes/no) were included in multivariate analysis, and results showed that diabetes was an independent risk factor for rebleeding after endoscopic treatment of esophageal varices (P=0.008, OR=2.973, 95%CI: 1.322-6.689). Conclusion After endoscopic treatment of liver cirrhosis patients with esophageal varices, rebleeding is more likely to occur in patients complicated with diabetes. Key words: Diabetes mellitus; Liver cirrhosis; Esophageal varices; Endoscopic variceal ligation; Endoscopic injection sclerotherapy; Rebleeding