Objective: Evaluation of an alternative technique to perform transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), using abdominal ultrasound to guide portal puncture.
Methods: Retrospective analysis of TIPS performed from January 2014 to December 2018 in an interventional radiology service. TIPS were performed according to the classic technique, except at the moment of portal branch puncture, when abdominal ultrasound was used to guide it, visualized its path within the parenchyma in real-time. Qualitative and quantitative variables were analyzed considering a 95% confidence interval and application of the Student's t-test with a significance level of P < 0.05.
Results: Forty-one TIPS were performed. The technical success rate of ultrasound guidance in portal puncture was 100.0%. After its performance, a reduction in the portosystemic pressure gradient was observed, with an initial gradient average of 18.8 mmHg (12-25 ± 3.6 mmHg) and a final gradient of 9.2 mmHg (5-14 ± 2.4 mmHg). The mean values for the TIPS execution time, fluoroscopy time and the radiation dose, verified through the dose area product, were 65.2 ± 46.7 min, 25 ± 14.1 min and 85.6 ± 70 Gy cm2, respectively. There were no complications related to the inadvertent puncture of nontarget structures or deaths due to complications resulting from TIPS.
Conclusion: The results demonstrate that the portal transhepatic puncture guided by the abdominal ultrasound is an effective and safe procedure and results in time of execution, time of fluoroscopy and radiation dose below the current reference values of the conventional procedure.
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