Abstract The effectiveness of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in managing adverse effects stemming from portal hypertension has been well-documented, showcasing remarkable outcomes. Direct portal pressure or hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) with venography is the current gold standard for evaluation of TIPS function. These methods being invasive, a search for noninvasive and easily available tool like splenic stiffens as an alternative to look for TIPS function is studied. Twenty-seven patients (19 undergoing fresh TIPS and 8 patients undergoing revision for tips dysfunction) were included. Splenic stiffness (SS) by two-dimensional (2D) shear wave elastography was measured by two observers, and color Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) evaluation was done in all patients 1 day prior to TIPS procedure and on day 1, 3, 28, and 60 postprocedure. A total of 7 patients having TIPS dysfunction were identified at 2 months. For receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, mean SS was calculated in 20 patients with normal TIPS function and 15 (8 undergoing TIPS revision and 7 TIPS dysfunction identified during follow-up) TIPS dysfunction patients. SS showed mean decrease of 42.1% immediately postprocedure and 53.5% at 1 month. SS correlated with HVPG (R = 0.57, p = 0.02) and direct portal pressure (R = 0.53, p = 0.004). Portal vein (PV) velocity showed mean increase of 18.6 cm/s 24 hours postprocedure. In univariate analysis, SS, PV velocity, and flow in the intrahepatic portal vein branches were found to be associated with TIPS dysfunction. ROC curve analysis of combined dysfunction/revision group for SS with cutoff of 33.4 kPa showed a sensitivity of 92.3% and specificity of 89.4% for identifying TIPS dysfunction. SS by 2D shear wave elastography is a noninvasive, reliable, and reproducible method for identifying TIPS dysfunction and has a positive correlation with HVPG and direct portal pressure. When done in conjunction with CDUS evaluation, the overall diagnostic accuracy for TIPS assessment increases.
Babbar et al. (Mon,) studied this question.