ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To identify the risk factors of early post-TIPS hepatic encephalopathy (HE) and the long-time survival of patients with or without early post-TIPS HE.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Consecutive cirrhotic patients who underwent TIPS for variceal rebleeding or refractory ascites in our center from January 2003 to December 2008 were included in this study. More than 60 clinical characteristics were enrolled in univariate analysis and logistic regression analysis to define the risk factors of HE in 3 months after TIPS procedure (early post-TIPS HE). The long-time survival of patients with or without early post-TIPS HE was compared by Cox regression with several covariates.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>According to our inclusion criteria, 190 patients were included. The median follow-up was 30.5 months. Lower serum concentration of fibrinogen and higher Child-Pugh score were the independent risk factors for suffering early post-TIPS HE. Patients without early post-TIPS HE after TIPS showed better prognosis than those with early post-TIPS HE after TIPS (P = 0.044).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Patients with lower serum fibrinogen and higher Child-Pugh score before TIPS might be more probably attacked by early post-TIPS HE which indicated worse long-term survival.</p>