Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt does not independently increase risk of death in high model for end stage liver disease patients
Erin K. Spengler, Lawrence G. Hunsicker, Sanam Zarei, M. Bridget Zimmerman, Michael D. Voigt – 7 June 2017 – Physicians often exclude patients with a model for end‐stage liver disease (MELD) score ≥ 18 from a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) procedure due to the concern for higher risk of death. We aimed to determine if TIPS increased the risk of death in these patients. We analyzed the interaction between TIPS and MELD in 106 patients with TIPS and 79 with intractable ascites without TIPS.