PubMed · 42723205
A 7-mm Covered TIPS Reduces Hepatic Encephalopathy Without Increasing Rebleeding in Cirrhotic Patients With Small Liver: A Randomized Study.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS: International guidelines recommend initiating transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placement with an 8-mm stent. However, there is an evident lack of randomized controlled trials evaluating TIPS diameters < 8 mm in cirrhotic patients with a relatively small liver. The aim of this study was to determine whether 7 mm-covered TIPS, compared with 8-mm stents, could achieve comparable shunt function with a lower incidence of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). METHODS: In this multicenter randomized controlled trial, patients with cirrhosis and relatively small liver were randomized 1:1 to receive TIPS with a 7-mm (n = 92) or 8-mm (n = 92) covered stent to prevent variceal rebleeding. The primary endpoint was the incidence of overt HE after randomization. All-cause rebleeding, orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT)-free survival and a composite of these outcomes, were designated as secondary endpoints. RESULTS: Among the 184 enrolled patients, the predominant etiologies of liver cirrhosis were hepatitis B virus infection (56.0%) and alcohol-related liver disease (20.7%). Over a median follow-up of 26.5 months, overt HE occurred in 19 patients (20.7%) in the 7-mm group and 33 patients (35.9%) in the 8-mm group. The 2-year cumulative incidence of overt HE was significantly lower in the 7-mm group than in the 8-mm group (21.4% vs. 37.2%, p = 0.02). Stent diameter, post-TIPS portosystemic pressure gradient, pre-covert HE and MELD-Na score were identified as independent risk factors for overt HE. The rates of shunt dysfunction were statistically similar between groups (8.7% vs. 8.7%, p = 1.0), as were 2-year rebleeding rates (10.9% vs. 9.8%, p = 0.81) and OLT-free survival rates (91.3% vs. 88.0%, p = 0.82). CONCLUSIONS: A 7-mm covered TIPS demonstrated comparable shunt function to an 8-mm covered stents, with a significantly lower risk of overt HE. These findings support consideration of 7-mm TIPS stents for preventing variceal rebleeding in cirrhotic patients with a small liver who are undergoing TIPS. TRAIL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02541825.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Fuquan Liu, Kan Zhang, Yu Zhang, Quanwei He, Mingming Meng, Xuemei Ma, Bing Zhu, Yifan Wu, Linjing An, Yifan Lv, Fuhuang Lin, Ke Zhang, Bowen Liu, Xiujuan Chang, Huiguo Ding, Jiangtao Liu, Yan Chen, Yongping Yang. 2026. A 7-mm Covered TIPS Reduces Hepatic Encephalopathy Without Increasing Rebleeding in Cirrhotic Patients With Small Liver: A Randomized Study.. https://doi.org/10.1111/liv.70875
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.
Discover connections
Connections use source metadata and explicit phrase matches, not verified experimental comparisons.