摘要
Variceal bleeding is a serious complication of cirrhosis and portal hypertension.Despite the improvement in management of acute variceal bleed(AVB),it still carries significant mortality.Portal pressure is the main driver of variceal bleeding and also a main predictor of decompensation.Reduction in portal pressure has been the mainstay of management of variceal bleeding.Transjugular intrahepatic porto-systemic stent shunt(TIPSS)is a very effective modality in reducing the portal hypertension and thereby,controlling portal hypertensive bleeding.However,its use in refractory bleeding(rescue/salvage TIPSS)is still associated with high mortality.“Early”use of TIPSS as a“pre-emptive strategy”in patients with AVB at high risk of failure of treatment has shown to be superior to standard treatment in several studies.While patients with Child C cirrhosis(up to 13 points)clearly benefit from early-TIPSS strategy,it’s role in less severe liver disease(Child B)and more severe disease(Child C>13 points)remains less clear.Moreover,standard of care has improved in the last decade leading to improved 1-year survival in high-risk patients with AVB as compared to earlier“early”TIPSS studies.Lastly in the real world,only a minority of patients with AVB fulfil the stringent criteria for early TIPSS.Therefore,there is unmet need to explore role of early TIPSS in management of AVB in well-designed prospective studies. In this review, we have appraised the role of early TIPSS, patient selection anddiscussed future directions in the management of patients with AVB.
