Korean J Med.  2014 Jan;86(1):30-32. 10.3904/kjm.2014.86.1.30.

Prevention of Variceal Rebleeding According to the Dose of Propranolol

• Jang JY
• Lee WC

• KMID: 1867313
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjm.2014.86.1.30

Abstract

Esophageal variceal bleeding is a common complication of liver cirrhosis. Non-selective beta blockers (NSBB) have been established in numerous studies as one of the medical treatment for cirrhosis, especially in the primary and secondary prevention of variceal bleeding. The dose of NSBB is adjusted for a reduction in the resting heart rate by 25%, to 55 beat/min, or until the occurrence of adverse effect. The mean adjusted dose of propranolol in Korean study is 160 mg/day. Nevertheless, low dose propranolol is frequently used in real clinical field. A study by Kwon et al. showed that effect of propranolol in the prevention for esophageal rebleeding was superior in maximally-tolerable dose group of propranolol than low dose group. In this editorial, we have reviewed the studies of prevention for variceal rebleeding focusing on the dose of propranolol.

Keyword

Non-selective beta blocker; Liver cirrhosis; Esophageal varix; Rebleeding

MeSH Terms

Esophageal and Gastric Varices
Fibrosis
Heart Rate
Liver Cirrhosis
Propranolol*
Secondary Prevention
Propranolol