Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in Spain. Clinical-epidemiological considerations in relation to...

this study aimed to determine the epidemiological, technical and clinical data of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) performed by Interventional Radiology departments in Spain. Furthermore, the total number of TIPS carried out in Spain was determined and compared with other countries.

a retrospective study was performed with the approval of the Ethical Committee of the Spanish Society of Interventional Radiology (SERVEI). A survey was performed with 31 items (demographic, technical and clinical data) for data acquisition on the current status of TIPS in Spain. The survey was sent to the 49 hospitals that SERVEI included in a previous registry with data of TIPS performed in Spain in 2016.

of the 49 centers surveyed, 33 (67.35 %) replied to the survey. These centers had completed 265 of the 415 TIPS that year in Spain. The most frequent indication was upper GI bleeding from gastroesophageal varices, which accounted for 144 (54.33 %); 62.26 % of the TIPS were performed urgently and 37.7 % on a scheduled basis. The technical success was 89.16 ± 20.9 %, with a rebleeding rate of 17.9 %. Sixty-nine patients (26.03 %) presented complications, 19.62 % of them minor and 6.41 % major. The 30-day mortality related to the disease was 14.33 %, while mortality at one year was 18.49 %.

notably in our study, the complications of TIPS did not show a clear relationship with the number of procedures performed. With regard to other countries like the United States and France, the number of TIPS in Spain per million inhabitants is currently substantially lower. There were no significant changes compared to the number completed in 2013.