Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Reduction for Medically Refractory Hepatic Encephalopathy

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is an established intervention for symptomatic portal hypertension, with many patients experiencing hepatic encephalopathy (HE) as an undesirable side effect. For medically refractory HE, TIPS reduction can decrease the burden of neurotoxic metabolites. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of TIPS reduction for the treatment of medically refractory post-TIPS HE. Methods A retrospective search using an institutional database yielded 45 patients who underwent TIPS reduction between 2011 and 2021. Four patients were excluded due to lack of post-TIPS HE, and 41 patients in total were included. The primary endpoint was improvement of HE after TIPS reduction as measured by the West Haven scores. Secondary endpoints included postreduction recurrence of ascites or gastrointestinal bleeding, procedural complications, and 30-day mortality. Results TIPS reduction was performed in all 41 patients with a 30-day mortality rate of 9.8%. No deaths were attributable to the procedure itself. Twenty-seven patients (65.9%) had improvement in HE and 10 patients (24.4%) proceeded to TIPS occlusion due to refractory HE. The average pre- and postreduction West Haven grades were 2.9 ± 0.5 and 1.9 ± 1.2 (p < 0.001), respectively. One patient (2.4%) had spontaneous TIPS thrombosis after reduction and developed arterial gastrointestinal bleeding, 15 patients (36.6%) experienced recurrent ascites, and there were no cases of variceal hemorrhage. Conclusion In this population, TIPS reduction improved medically refractory HE in 65.9% of patients with a 36.6% risk of recurrent ascites, no cases of variceal hemorrhage, and 9.8% 30-day mortality.