Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and predictors of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) and endoscopic therapy (ET) in the elective treatment of recurrent variceal hemorrhage. Methods. Seventy patients were treated with elective TIPS and fifty-six patients with ET. Median observation time was 46.28 months in the TIPS group and 42.31 months in the ET group. Results. 30 patients (42.8%) developed clinically evident portosystemic encephalopathy in TIPS group and 20 patients (35.6%) in ET group. The difference between the groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.542; χ 2 test). The incidence of new or worsening portosystemic encephalopathy was 24.3% in TIPS group and 10.7% in ET group. Multivariate analysis showed that ET treatment (P = 0.031), age of >65 years (P = 0.022), pre-existing HE (P = 0.045), and Child's class C (P = 0.051) values were independent predictors for the occurrence of HE. Conclusions. Procedure-related HE is a complication in a minority of patients treated with TIPS or ET. Patients with increased age, preexisting HE, and higher Child-Pugh score should be carefully observed after TIPS procedure because the risk of post-TIPS HE in these patients is higher.

The present study was designed to compare elective transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS) and endoscopic sclerotherapy (EST) in terms of their efficacy in preventing recurrent bleeding from gastro-oesophageal varices in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Of 96 patients with at least three gastro-oesophageal variceal rebleeds, 50 were treated with elective TIPS and 46 with EST. Recurrent variceal bleeding was significantly more frequent in patients receiving EST treatment compared with those receiving TIPS (45.7% versus 6.3%, respectively). Cumulative 1- and 4-year survival in the TIPS group was 83.0% and 73.5%, respectively, compared with 69.8% and 39.8% in the EST group, respectively. The rate of portosystemic encephalopathy was 33.3% in the TIPS group and 37.0% in the EST group. Elective TIPS was more effective than EST in the prevention of gastro-oesophageal variceal rebleeding in cirrhotic patients, it improved survival and it was associated with a similar rate of portosystemic encephalopathy.

Background Recurrent bleeding from gastroesophageal varices is the most common life-threatening complication of portal hypertension. According to guidelines, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) should not be used as a first-line treatment and should be limited to those bleedings which are refractory to pharmacologic and endoscopic treatment (ET). To our knowledge, long-term studies evaluating the role of elective TIPS in comparison to ET in patients with recurrent variceal bleeding episodes are rare. Patients and methods This study was designed as a retrospective single-institution analysis of 70 patients treated with TIPS and 56 with ET. Patients were followed-up from inclusion in the study until death, liver transplantation, the last follow-up observation or until the end of our study. Results Recurrent variceal bleeding was significantly more frequent in ET group compared to patients TIPS group (66.1% vs. 21.4%, p < 0.001; χ2-test). The incidence of death secondary to recurrent bleeding was higher in the ET group (28.6% vs. 10%). Cumulative survival after 1 year, 2 years and 5 years in TIPS group compared to ET group was 85% vs. 83%, 73% vs. 67% and 41% vs. 35%, respectively. The main cause of death in patients with cumulative survival more than 2 years was liver failure. Median observation time was 47 months (range; 2–194 months) in the TIPS group and 40 months (range; 1–168 months) in the ET group. Conclusions In present study TIPS was more effective in the prevention of recurrent variceal bleeding and had lower mortality due to recurrent variceal bleeding compared to ET.