title: A randomized clinical trial comparing transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt with endoscopic sclerotherapy in the long-term management of patients with cirrhosis after recent variceal hemorrhage.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) with that of endoscopic sclerotherapy (ES) in the long-term management of patients with cirrhosis after variceal bleeding. Seventy-eight consecutive cirrhotic patients with recent variceal bleeding were randomly allocated to either TIPS (n=38) or ES (n=40). All patients were in good condition at randomization. The mean follow-up was 1116+/-92 days in the TIPS group and 1047+/-102 days in the ES group. Differences in rebleeding from any source (18.4% vs. 32.5%) and esophageal variceal rebleeding (15.7% vs. 27.5%) were not significantly different between the two groups (P>0.05). The mortality rates were similar in both treatment groups. Shunt dysfunction was noted in 27 patients (71%) in the TIPS group. There were more numbers of rehospitalization during follow-up in the TIPS group than in the ES group (2.6+/-0.4 vs. 1.1+/-0.2) (P<0.01). TIPS and ES are equally effective in the prevention of variceal rebleeding. However, TIPS is associated with high incidence of shunt dysfunction, which lead to more rehospitalization. Therefore, TIPS may not be a first-line treatment for the prevention of variceal rebleeding in cirrhotic patients who are in stable condition.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5, Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, 113-8603, Tokyo, Japan
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Narahara
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kanazawa
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawamata
authors.forename: Norihiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tada
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saitoh
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsuzaka
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Osada
authors.forename: Yasutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mamiya
authors.forename: Katsuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakatsuka
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshimoto
authors.forename: Nobuhito
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koizumi
authors.forename: Choitsu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobayashi