Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were eligible for inclusion.
Specific interventions included in the review
Studies using ligation, sclerotherapy or medical treatment were eligible for inclusion. Studies were excluded if they compared combined treatments, e.g. endoscopic treatment after administration of vasoactive drugs, or dealt with preventive endoscopic treatments.
Four of the included studies compared two medical regimens with each other; 6 compared sclerotherapy with ligation; 2 compared medical and endoscopic regimens; and one study compared vasopressin with oesophageal tamponade. The time until endoscopy, where reported, ranged from emergency (immediate) to within 24 hours.
Participants included in the review
Patients with acute variceal bleeding. Studies were eligible for inclusion if ongoing bleeding was clearly defined (e.g. oozing or spurting) and all patients were bleeding at the time of initial endoscopy, or if the data were reported for the subgroup of patients with ongoing bleeding. The mean age of the participants in the included studies ranged from 35 to 61 years. Studies of gastroenterological bleeding other than oesophageal variceal bleeding were excluded.
Outcomes assessed in the review
The outcome assessed was initial control of bleeding, as defined by the included studies. Trials without a clear definition of control of bleeding were excluded.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors do not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many of the reviewers performed the selection.