AGA Clinical Practice Update on Management of Portal Vein Thrombosis in Patients With Cirrhosis: Expert Review

Portal vein thromboses (PVTs) are common in patients with cirrhosis and are associated with advanced portal hypertension and mortality. The treatment of PVTs remains a clinical challenge due to limited evidence and competing risks of PVT-associated complications vs bleeding risk of anticoagulation. Significant heterogeneity in PVT phenotype based on anatomic, host, and disease characteristics, and an emerging spectrum of therapeutic options further complicate PVT management. This Clinical Practice Update (CPU) aims to provide best practice advice for the evaluation and management of PVT in cirrhosis, including the role of direct oral anticoagulants and endovascular interventions.

This expert review was commissioned and approved by the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute CPU Committee and the AGA Governing Board to provide timely guidance on a topic of high clinical importance to the AGA membership, and underwent internal peer review by the CPU Committee and external peer review through standard procedures of Gastroenterology. These Best Practice Advice statements were drawn from a review of the published literature and from expert opinion. Because systematic reviews were not performed, these Best Practice Advice statements do not carry formal ratings regarding the quality of evidence or strength of the presented considerations. Best Practice Advice Statements BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 1: Asymptomatic patients with compensated cirrhosis do not require routine screening for PVT. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 2: Patients with cirrhosis with PVTs identified on Doppler ultrasound should undergo cross-sectional imaging with computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging to confirm the diagnosis, evaluate for malignancy, and document the degree of lumen occlusion, clot extent, and chronicity. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 3: Patients with cirrhosis and PVT do not require a hypercoagulable workup in the absence of additional thromboemboli or laboratory abnormalities or family history suggestive of thrombophilia. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 4: Patients with cirrhosis and PVT with evidence of intestinal ischemia require urgent anticoagulation to minimize ischemic injury. If available, these patients should be managed by a multidisciplinary team, including gastroenterology and hepatology, interventional radiology, hematology, and surgery. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 5: Consider observation, with repeat imaging every 3 months until clot regression, in patients with cirrhosis without intestinal ischemia and recent (<6 months) thrombosis involving the intrahepatic portal vein branches or when there is <50% occlusion of the main portal vein, splenic vein, or mesenteric veins. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 6: Anticoagulation should be considered in patients with cirrhosis without intestinal ischemia who develop recent (<6 months) PVT that is >50% occlusive or involves the main portal vein or mesenteric vessels. Patients who have increased benefit of recanalization include those with involvement of more than 1 vascular bed, those with thrombus progression, potential liver transplantation candidates, and those with inherited thrombophilia. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 7: Anticoagulation is not advised for patients with cirrhosis with chronic (>6 months) PVT with complete occlusion with collateralization (cavernous transformation). BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 8: Patients with cirrhosis and PVT warrant endoscopic variceal screening if they are not already on nonselective beta-blocker therapy for bleeding prophylaxis. Avoid delays in the initiation of anticoagulation for PVT, as this decreases the odds of portal vein recanalization. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 9: Vitamin K antagonists, low-molecular-weight heparin, and direct oral anticoagulants are all reasonable anticoagulant options for patients with cirrhosis and PVT. Decision making should be individualized and informed by patient preference and Child-Turcotte-Pugh class. Direct oral anticoagulants may be considered in patients with compensated Child-Turcotte-Pugh class A and Child-Turcotte-Pugh class B cirrhosis and offer convenience as their dosages are independent of international normalized ratio monitoring. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 10: Patients with cirrhosis on anticoagulation for PVT should have cross-sectional imaging every 3 months to assess response to treatment. If clot regresses, anticoagulation should be continued until transplantation or at least clot resolution in nontransplantation patients. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 11: Portal vein revascularization with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting may be considered for selected patients with cirrhosis and PVT who have additional indications for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting, such as those with refractory ascites or variceal bleeding. Portal vein revascularization with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunting may also be considered for transplantation candidates if recanalization can facilitate the technical feasibility of transplantation.