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Updated: May 8, 2026
Measurement of the Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient and Transjugular Liver Biopsy
Published on: June 18, 2020
Transjugular liver biopsy: indications, technique and results
A Dohan1, Y Guerrache2, M Boudiaf2
1Department of abdominal imaging, hôpital Lariboisière, AP-HP, 2, rue Ambroise-Paré, 75010 Paris, France; Université Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris-Cité, 10, avenue de Verdun, 75010 Paris, France; UMR Inserm 965-Paris 7, angiogenesis and translational research, 2, rue Amboise-Paré, 75010 Paris, France.
Abstract:
Transjugular liver biopsy is a safe, effective and well-tolerated technique to obtain liver tissue specimens in patients with diffuse liver disease associated with severe coagulopathies or massive ascites. Transjugular liver biopsy is almost always feasible. The use of ultrasonographic guidance for percutaneous puncture of the right internal jugular vein is recommended to decrease the incidence of local cervical minor complications. Semiautomated biopsy devices are very effective in obtaining optimal tissue samples for a precise and definite histological diagnosis with a very low rate of complication. The relative limitations of transjugular liver biopsy are the cost, the radiation dose given to the patient, the increased procedure time by comparison with the more common percutaneous liver biopsy, and the need of a well-trained interventional radiologist.
