Shunting branch of portal vein and stent position predict survival after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt

AIM:To evaluate the effect of the shunting branch of the portal vein(PV)(left or right)and the initial stent position(optimal or suboptimal)of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt(TIPS).METHODS:We retrospectively reviewed 307 consecu5tive cirrhotic patients who underwent TIPS placement for variceal bleeding from March 2001 to July 2010 at our center.The left PV was used in 221 patients and the right PV in the remaining 86 patients.And,224 and83 patients have optimal stent position and sub-optimal stent positions,respectively.The patients were followed until October 2011 or their death.Hepatic encephalopathy,shunt dysfunction,and survival were evaluated as outcomes.The difference between the groups was compared by Kaplan-Meier analysis.A Cox regression model was employed to evaluate the predictors.RESULTS:Among the patients who underwent TIPS to the left PV,the risk of hepatic encephalopathy(P=0.002)and mortality were lower(P<0.001)compared to those to the right PV.Patients who underwent TIPS with optimal initial stent position had a higher primary patency(P<0.001)and better survival(P=0.006)than those with suboptimal initial stent position.The shunting branch of the portal vein and the initial stent position were independent predictors of hepatic encephalopathy and shunt dysfunction after TIPS,respectively.And,both were independent predictors of survival.CONCLUSION:TIPS placed to the left portal vein with optimal stent position may reduce the risk of hepatic encephalopathy and improve the primary patency rates,thereby prolonging survival.

TIPS improves liver transplantation-free survival in cirrhotic patients with refractory ascites:An updated meta-analysis

AIM:To compare the liver transplantation-free(LTF)survival rates between patients who underwent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts(TIPS)and those who underwent paracentesis by an updated meta-analysis that pools the effects of both number of deaths and time to death.METHODS:MEDLINE,EMBASE,and the Cochrane Library were searched from the inception to October2012.LTF survival,liver transplantation,liver diseaserelated death,non-liver disease-related death,recurrent ascites,hepatic encephalopathy(HE)and severe HE,and hepatorenal syndrome were assessed as outcomes.LTF survival was estimated using a HR with a95%CI.Other outcomes were estimated using OR with95%CIs.Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the effects of potential outliers in the studies according to the risk of bias and the study characteristics.RESULTS:Six randomized controlled trials with 390patients were included.In comparison to paracentesis,TIPS significantly improved LTF survival(HR=0.61,95%CI:0.46-0.82,P<0.001).TIPS also significantly decreased liver disease-related death(OR=0.62,95%CI:0.39-0.98,P=0.04),recurrent ascites(OR=0.15,95%CI:0.09-0.24,P<0.001)and hepatorenal syndrome(OR=0.32,95%CI:0.12-0.86,P=0.02).However,TIPS increased the risk of HE(OR=2.95,95%CI:1.87-4.66,P=0.02)and severe HE(OR=2.18,95%CI:1.27-3.76,P=0.005).CONCLUSION:TIPS significantly improved the LTF survival of cirrhotic patients with refractory ascites and decreased the risk of recurrent ascites and hepatorenal syndrome with the cost of increased risk of HE compared with paracentesis.Further studies are warranted to validate the survival benefit of TIPS in clinical practice settings.

EVS vs TIPS shunt for gastric variceal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis:A meta-analysis

AIM: To evaluate the clinical effects of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) vs endoscopic variceal sclerotherapy (EVS) in the management of gastric variceal (GV) bleeding in terms of variceal rebleeding, hepatic encephalopathy (HE), and survival by meta-analysis.METHODS: Medline, Embase, and CNKI were searched. Studies compared TIPS with EVS in treating GV bleeding were identified and included according to our predefined inclusion criteria. Data were extracted independently by two of our authors. Studies with prospective randomized design were considered to be of high quality. Hazard ratios (HRs) or odd ratios(ORs) were calculated using a fixed-effects model when there was no inter-trial heterogeneity. Oppositely, a random-effects model was employed.RESULTS: Three studies with 220 patients who had at least one episode of GV bleeding were included in the present meta-analysis. The proportions of patients with viral cirrhosis and alcoholic cirrhosis were 39% (range 0%-78%) and 36% (range 12% to 41%), respectively. The pooled incidence of variceal rebleeding in the TIPS group was significantly lower than that in the EVS group (HR = 0.3, 0.35, 95% CI: 0.17-0.71, P = 0.004). However, the risk of the development of any degree of HE was significantly increased in the TIPS group (OR = 15.97, 95% CI: 3.61-70.68). The pooled HR of survival was 1.26(95% CI: 0.76-2.09, P = 0.36). No inter-trial heterogeneity was observed among these analyses. CONCLUSION: The improved effect of TIPS in the prevention of GV rebleeding is associated with an increased risk of HE. There is no survival difference between the TIPS and EVS groups. Further studies are needed to evaluate the survival benefit of TIPS in cirrhotic patients with GV bleeding.