Gender Disparity in Inpatient Mortality After Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Creation in Patients Admitted With Hepatorenal Syndrome: A Nationwide Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate inpatient mortality after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation compared with medical management (MM) in patients with hepatorenal syndrome (HRS). Patients with cirrhosis admitted with HRS between 2005 and 2014 were identified using associated International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes in the National Inpatient Sample (n = 153,112). Non-TIPS candidates and patients with parenchymal renal disease were excluded (n = 73,454). The remaining admissions were assigned to groups of TIPS (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, code 39.1; n = 971) or MM (n = 78,687). Inpatient mortality was analyzed by treatment type and patient gender using χ2 tests. Logistic regression was performed to control for baseline differences in patient demographics, comorbid disease, and pretreatment mortality risk. Baseline patient demographics were similar. Patients treated medically had higher baseline disease severity (median mortality risk score, 8.3 with MM versus 6.1 with TIPS; P < .01). Inpatient mortality was strongly modified by patient gender. TIPS creation conferred inpatient mortality benefit in men (28% of the MM group versus 10% of the TIPS group, P < .01) independent of all covariates (odds ratio, 0.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.17-0.78; P < .01). Women treated with TIPS creation experienced no mortality benefit (29% MM versus 32% TIPS; odds ratio, 1.5; 95% confidence interval, 0.75-3.23; P = .23). TIPS creation is associated with reduced inpatient mortality in men, but not women, admitted with HRS. Drivers of this gender-based disparity are currently unclear and warrant focused investigation.