Acta gastro-enterologica Belgica
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Acta Gastroenterol. Belg. · Jul 2010
Comparative StudyCovered stents are better than uncovered stents for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts in cirrhotic patients with refractory ascites: a retrospective cohort study.
Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is an accepted interventional technique to treat refractory ascites in cirrhotic patients with severe portal hypertension. The expanded-polytetrafluoroethylene (e-PTFE) covered stent-graft (cs-TIPS) gives a better shunt patency rate than uncovered stents (ncs-TIPS). Our aim was to retrospectively evaluate whether cs-TIPS indeed improves refractory ascites and overall survival in a more effective way than ncs-TIPS in patients with cirrhosis. ⋯ In cirrhotic patients with refractory ascites cs-TIPS offers better symptomatic control of the ascites at one year follow-up and a better overall survival, especially in patients with a MELD score of <16 at baseline.