Purpose: The aim was to compare the clinical and hemodynamic outcome between polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-coated stent-grafts and bare stents in patients who required both elective and emergency transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placement due to portal hypertension related complications.
Materials and methods: Retrospective analysis of all seventy patients with portal hypertension related complications who required TIPS placement in a referral hospital from September 1998 to May 2002 was done. Follow-up was extended until May 2003. PTFE-covered stent-grafts were used in the latter 20. Demographic variables, cirrhosis etiology and Child-Pugh class, indication of TIPS placement and clinical outcome were recorded. The following TIPS-related outcomes were registered: recurrent variceal bleeding and/or ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and mortality.
Results: Baseline characteristics, portacaval gradient (PCG) after TIPS placement and at 1 month angiographic revision were similar in both groups. At 6 month follow-up, PCG was significantly lower in patients with stent-grafts (14.2 mmHg (5.6 mmHg) versus 7 mmHg (1 mmHg), p<0.001). Overall, there were no cases of clinically relevant TIPS dysfunction in the coated stent group while 22% of patients in the bare stent group had recurrence of portal hypertension related complications (p=0.085). Actuarial probability of TIPS dysfunction in bare stents was 82% at 12 months compared to no episode in covered stent-grafts (p=0.03). Mean increase in total serum bilirubin was higher in the PTFE-coated stent group (6.7 mg/dl (14.4 mg/dl) versus 0.5 mg/dl (2.4 mg/dl), p=0.01) without differences in encephalopathy nor mortality rate.
Conclusion: One year shunt patency rate is improved with placement of ePTFE-covered stent-grafts without a higher rate of encephalopathy. Further prospective trials are required.