Early Liver Failure after Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt in Patients with Cirrhosis with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease Score of 12 or Less: Incidence, Outcome, and Prognostic Factors.

Purpose To evaluate the incidence, outcomes, and prognostic factors of early liver failure (ELF) after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation in patients with cirrhosis with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score of 12 or less. Materials and Methods Institutional review board approved this retrospective study, with waiver of written informed consent. Two-hundred sixteen consecutive patients with cirrhosis (140 men, 76 women; mean age, 55.9 years; virus-related cirrhosis, 67.6% [146 of 216 patients]) with baseline MELD score of 12 or less who underwent TIPS placement between September 1999 and July 2012 were followed until last clinical evaluation, liver transplantation, or death. The Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and univariate and multivariate analyses were used, as appropriate. Results Twenty of 216 patients (9.2%) developed ELF within 3 months of TIPS (10 patients died, one required liver transplantation, and nine increased the MELD score to >18). ELF was associated with lower survival, 37% versus 95% at 6 months, and 24% versus 86% at 12 months (P < .001) compared with patients without ELF. ELF occurred in 16 of 95 (16.8%) patients with refractory ascites and in four of 121 (3.3%) patients with other indications for TIPS. Multivariate analysis confirmed MELD scores of 11 or 12 (odds ratio, 3.96 [95% confidence interval: 1.07, 14.67]; P = .040), decreased hemoglobin level (odds ratio, 0.68 [95% confidence interval: 0.49, 0.95]; P = .022), and decreased platelet count (odds ratio, 0.99 [95% confidence interval: 0.99, 0.99]; P = .024) as predictors for ELF in patients with refractory ascites. Conclusion ELF is not uncommon in cirrhotic patients with a MELD score of 12 or less who undergo TIPS placement for refractory ascites (especially in patients with MELD of 11 or 12) and decreased hemoglobin level and platelet count. (©) RSNA, 2016.