Case Report
Right Sided Colonic Varices: 2 Cases and Review of the Literature
Erwin-Jan M. van Geenen* and Geert JA
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Corresponding Author:
- Erwin-Jan M. van Geenen
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center
Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Tel: 0031636170086
E-mail: erwin.vangeenen@radboudumc.nl
Received Date: July 9, 2015 Accepted Date: October 13, 2015 Published Date: October 20, 2015
Citation: van Geenen EM, Geert JA (2015) Right Sided Colonic Varices: 2 Cases and Review of the Literature. J Gastrointest Dig Syst S13:009. doi:10.4172/2161-069X.1000S13-009
Copyright: © 2015 van Geenen EM, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background: Colonic varices (CV) are a rare cause of lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Although approximately 90 cases of CV have been reported, mainly in bleeding patients with portal hypertension, the prevalence of (asymptomatic) CV is likely to be underestimated.
Study/Results: We report two cases of portal hypertension related colonic varices and a literature review of colonic varices. These cases demonstrate the two clinical extremities: hardly any complaints versus medically refractory rectal blood loss and anemia, which ultimately needed surgical intervention.
Conclusion: Colonic varices are rare and more prevalent in patients with liver cirrhosis. Especially in this group, rectal bleeding and anemia with normal upper GI investigations, should be investigated with a colonoscopy. Treatment of CV is not well established and depends on the etiology and severity of clinical presentation.