title: Elevation of intracranial pressure following transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent-shunt for variceal haemorrhage.
abstract: Increased intracranial pressure and cerebral oedema in patients with chronic liver disease is rare and is more typical of acute liver failure. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent-shunt is being increasingly used in the management of uncontrolled variceal haemorrhage in patients with cirrhosis. In our institution, a total of 160 patients has undergone transjugular intrahepatic porto-systemic stent-shunt for variceal haemorrhage; 56 of these procedures were emergencies for uncontrolled variceal haemorrhage. Four of these 56 patients developed features of acute liver failure, with marked deterioration in liver function tests and elevated intracranial pressure. This unusual but important complication of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent-shunt has not been reported in the literature previously, and may have important consequences both for clinical practice and in the provision of further clues to understanding the pathogenesis of increased intracranial pressure in patients with liver diseases.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Liver and Digestive Disorders, and Department of Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. rjalan@srv2.med.ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jalan
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dabos
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Redhead
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Hayes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001929:Brain Edema / Q000209:etiology*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007427:Intracranial Pressure; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019168:Portasystemic Shunt, Transjugular Intrahepatic / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014648:Varicose Veins / Q000628:therapy*