Characterization of liver function parameter alterations after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt creation and association with early mortality.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to characterize the temporal evolution and clinical impact of laboratory liver function parameters after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation. MATERIALS AND METHODS. In this single-institution retrospective study, 157 patients (98 men and 59 women; median age, 55 years) underwent TIPS between 2000 and 2012 and had 1-month hepatobiliary laboratory follow-up. Medical record review was used to compare baseline, peak, and low bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase, and international normalized ratio (INR) levels within 30 days after TIPS in surviving and dying patients to assess laboratory responses to shunt creation. RESULTS. TIPSs were created with a hemodynamic success rate of 98%, with median pressure gradient reduction of 13 mm Hg. Ninety-day mortality was 21%. Hepatobiliary laboratory values showed significant increases in the days after TIPS compared with baseline levels (biliru...