{
  "abstract": "Background: Spleen stiffness (SS) is a noninvasive marker of portal hypertension; however, the clinical significance of early changes in SS after endoscopic treatment for esophageal varices remains unclear. We evaluated whether SS and its early post-treatment changes are associated with variceal recurrence. Methods: This retrospective pilot study included 20 patients who underwent endoscopic treatment for esophageal varices. Liver stiffness (LS) and spleen stiffness (SS) were measured before treatment, approximately 1 week after the final treatment session (1W), and at 1 month and 1 year after treatment. The clinical outcome of interest was variceal recurrence within 1 year. Early changes in stiffness were calculated from 1W to 1M (Δ1M − 1W). Results: Eleven patients (55.0%) developed variceal recurrence. LS did not differ significantly between the non-recurrence and recurrence groups at any time point during follow-up. SS was comparable between the groups before treatment and at 1W but was significantly higher in the recurrence group at 1M (median [IQR], 2.75 [2.70–2.86] vs. 3.40 [3.06–3.81] m/s in the non-recurrence and recurrence groups, respectively; p = 0.003). ΔSS-VTQ (1M − 1W) was significantly greater in the recurrence group than in the non-recurrence group (−0.13 [−0.62–−0.04] vs. 0.25 [−0.05–0.40] m/s, respectively; p = 0.013), whereas no significant between-group differences were observed in changes in LS. Conclusions: SS at 1 month after endoscopic treatment and its early post-treatment change were associated with variceal recurrence. Serial assessment of SS may provide useful information for early post-treatment risk assessment, although validation in larger prospective studies is needed.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, Juntendo University, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Akira Uchiyama",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3814-2760"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shunhei Yamashina",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5142-6712"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Satoshi Sakuma"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Masahiro Tada",
      "orcid": "0009-0004-1643-8645"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kei Ishizuka"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Maki Morinaga"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hiroo Fukada",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3775-4474"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Reiko Yaginuma",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-4873-3986"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kyoko Fukuhara"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kazuyoshi Kon",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1127-2218"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kenichi Ikejima",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2657-0840"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/69vb7jc135g5r.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/jcm15207868",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "69vb7jc135g5r",
  "issns": [
    "2077-0383"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/20/7868",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2721|Liver Disease and Transplantation"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221563174",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-12",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/69vb7jc135g5r.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:00Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/jcm15207868",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/20/7868"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2721|Liver Disease and Transplantation",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Early Changes in Spleen Stiffness After Endoscopic Treatment Are Associated with Esophageal Variceal Recurrence: A Pilot Study",
  "title_text": "Early Changes in Spleen Stiffness After Endoscopic Treatment Are Associated with Esophageal Variceal Recurrence: A Pilot Study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:00Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/69vb7jc135g5r",
  "venue": "Journal of Clinical Medicine",
  "versions": []
}