Management of Esophageal Varices in Children by Injection Sclerotherapy

Esophageal varices in 57 consecutive children were treated by injection sclerotherapy using 5% ethanolamine oleate injection via a fiberoptic endoscope (Olympus P2). Variceal obliteration was achieved with 4.7 and 5.7 injections in the extra- and intrahepatic disease groups. Complications of injections included hemorrhage, esophageal ulceration, and stricture. Thirty two cases were followed from 6 to 60 months after treatment and only five further bleeds were observed (extrahepatic 1: intrahepatic 4). The early results suggest that sclerotherapy is an effective method for the control of esophageal varices in children.