Portal vein thrombosis in patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis who underwent oesophagogastric devascularization combined with splenectomy

Background Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) has been described in nearly 50% of patients who underwent oesophagogastric devascularization combined with splenectomy (EGDS), but no previous study has compared its occurrence in surgical and non-surgical groups. This study aimed to investigate PVT in hepatosplenic schistosomiasis (HSS) and its association with EGDS and upper variceal bleeding (UVB). Methods Retrospectively, 104 HSS individuals were enrolled. Following EGDS, the occurrence of PVT, mesenteric vein thrombosis (MVT), hospital admissions and UVB were recorded. Results EGDS was performed in 27 (26%) patients. PVT and MVT were detected in 30 (33%) and 8 (9.8%) patients, respectively. Patients who underwent EGDS were at greater risk of PVT (63% vs 19.7%; odds ratio [OR] 6.12 [95% confidence interval {CI} 2.3 to 16.1], p Conclusions EGDS was not associated with a decreased frequency of UVB when compared with the non-surgical approach but was an independent risk factor for PVT.