Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
People with chronic liver disease and esophageal varices may have no symptoms.
If there is only a small amount of bleeding, the only symptom may be dark or black streaks in the stools.
If larger amounts of bleeding occur, symptoms may include:
- Black, tarry stools
- Bloody stools
Light-headedness - Paleness
- Symptoms of chronic liver disease (such as cirrhosis)
Vomiting Vomiting blood
Signs and tests
Physical examination:
- Bloody or black stool on rectal exam
Low blood pressure Rapid heart rate - Signs of chronic liver disease or cirrhosis
Tests to determine where the bleeding is coming from and detect active bleeding include:
- Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (
EGD ) - Tube through the nose into the stomach (nasogastric tube) to look for signs of bleeding
Some doctors recommend EGD for patients who are newly diagnosed with mild to moderate cirrhosis to screen for esophageal varices and treat them before there is bleeding.
Previous Section
Review Date: 01/20/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine; and George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of
Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San
Diego, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical
Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
