Liver stiffness measured by transient elastography as predictor of prognoses following portosystemic shunt occlusion

Background and Aim This study aimed to identify predictors of model for end‐stage liver disease sodium score reductions and improvements in vital prognoses following portosystemic shunt occlusion in portal hypertension patients. Methods Seventy cirrhotic patients with major portosystemic shunts and a mean model for end‐stage liver disease sodium score of 10.5 underwent balloon‐occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration between February 2008 and March 2017. We calculated the scores before and 1 month after shunt occlusion. The long‐term outcomes were monitored, and vital prognoses were analyzed. Results The model for end‐stage liver disease sodium score did not change significantly 1 month post‐balloon‐occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration, and the score decreased postoperatively in 31 (44.3%) patients. Univariate analyses showed that decline in the score after portosystemic shunt occlusion was strongly associated with hepatic encephalopathy as a procedural indication, lower liver volumes, and lower liver stiffness levels measured by transient elastography before treatment (P