The role of a multidisciplinary team in the management of portal hypertension

BACKGROUND: Gastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage is the most severe complication of portal hypertension, with a high mortality rate. The current recommendations for gastroesophageal varices include pharmacological treatment, endoscopic treatment, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placement, and splenectomy with devascularization surgery. Multidisciplinary team (MDT) comprises of a group of medical experts and specialists across a range of disciplines, providing personalized and targeted patient care tailored to each individual’s condition, circumstances, and expectations. METHODS: Patients referred to the MDT clinic since its establishment in September 2014 were prospectively enrolled and followed-up for at least 12 months. Patient baseline characteristics, treatment methods, outcome and survival were compared to non-MDT patients retrieved from a prospectively maintained database with propensity score matching. RESULTS: Propensity-score matching (PSM) was carried out to balance available covariates, resulting in 58 MDT patients vs. 111 non-MDT patients. Overall survival and variceal rebleed was compared between the two groups. The rate of variceal rebleed was significantly higher in the non-MDT group, while no difference in overall survival was observed. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to investigate the role of a multidisciplinary team in the management of gastroesophageal varices secondary to portal hypertension. Patients treated based on MDT clinic recommendations had a significantly lower risk for variceal rebleed.