# Clinical efficacy of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt in treating esophageal variceal bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis

## TL;DR

This study compares TIPS and drug therapy for treating esophageal variceal bleeding in liver cirrhosis patients, finding TIPS more effective in reducing bleeding and mortality.

## Contribution

Demonstrates that TIPS treatment is more effective than conventional drug therapy in managing esophageal variceal bleeding in liver cirrhosis patients.

## Key findings

- TIPS group had significantly lower blood transfusion volume, hemostasis time, and hospital stay compared to the SST group.
- TIPS improved hemodynamic status, gastric motility, and vascular endothelial function more effectively than SST.
- After six months, TIPS showed lower re-bleeding and mortality rates than SST.

## Abstract

To explore the clinical efficacy of transjugular intrahepatic portal vein shunt (TIPS) in treating esophageal variceal bleeding (EVB) of liver cirrhosis patients.

Clinical data of 60 patients with liver cirrhosis and EVB, admitted to The Second Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College between from November 2017 to April 2024, were retrospectively analyzed. Of them, 31 received TIPS treatment (TIPS group), and 29 received treatment with somatostatin (SST group). Blood transfusion volume, hemostasis time, and the length of hospital stay were compared between the two groups. Hemodynamic status, gastric motility indicators, vascular endothelial function indicators, levels of total bilirubin (TBIL), albumin (ALB), and international normalized ratio (INR) of both groups were compared before and after the treatment. The rebleeding and prognosis of patients were assessed after 6 months of follow-up.

The blood transfusion volume, hemostasis time, and length of hospital stay were significantly lower in the TIPS group than in the SST group (P<0.05). After the treatment, the hemodynamic status, gastric motility indicators, and vascular endothelial function indicators, in both groups significantly improved compared to those before treatment and were considerably better in patients treated by TIPS group compared to the SST group (P<0.05). There were no significant changes in the pretreatment and post-treatment levels of TBIL, ALB, and INR between the two groups (P>0.05). After six months of follow-up, the TIPS group showed significantly lower re-bleeding and mortality rates than the SST group (P<0.05).

Compared with conventional drug therapy, TIPS treatment can more effectively regulate hemodynamic status, improve gastric motility and vascular endothelial function, and reduce re-bleeding and mortality of patients with liver cirrhosis complicated by EVB.