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Updated: Jul 5, 2025

Measurement of the Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient and Transjugular Liver Biopsy
Published on: June 18, 2020
Comparative effectiveness of warfarin in cirrhotic patients with non-symptomatic portal vein thrombosis: a
Shenxin Lu1,2,3, Jie Chen1,4,5, Rui Zhang1,4
1Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
The effectiveness and risks of anticoagulant therapy in cirrhotic patients with non-symptomatic portal vein thrombosis (PVT) remain unclear. We conducted a multicenter, Zelen-designed randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of warfarin in cirrhotic patients with non-symptomatic PVT during a one-year follow-up. In brief, 64 patients were 1:1 randomly divided into the anticoagulation group or the untreated group. The probability of recanalization was significantly higher in the anticoagulation group than those untreated in both ITT analysis (71.9% vs 34.4%, p = 0.004) and PP analysis (76.7% vs 32.4%, p < 0.001). Anticoagulation treatment was the independent predictor of recanalization (HR 2.776, 95%CI 1.307-5.893, p = 0.008). The risk of bleeding events and mortality were not significantly different. A significantly higher incidence of ascites aggravation was observed in the untreated group (3.3% vs 26.5%, p = 0.015). In conclusion, warfarin was proved to be an effective and safe as an anticoagulation therapy for treating non-symptomatic PVT in cirrhotic patients.
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