Clinical efficacy of antiviral therapy in patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt

BACKGROUND: As a country with a high burden of hepatitis B, China has about 86 million cases of hepatitis B virus infection, ranking the first in the world. Currently, there are about 390000 deaths due to hepatitis B-related complications such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer every year. Consequently, how to control portal hypertension, improve liver functional reserve, and reduce the incidence of hepatic failure and liver cancer in such patients is the focus of current clinical attention. Previous clinical study in our center suggested that at 24 mo after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), the liver functional reserve of patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis was better than that of patients with alcohol-induced and immune cirrhosis, which may be related to the effective etiological treatment. AIM: To investigate the clinical efficacy of three first-line antiviral drugs recommended by the guidelines of prevention and treatment for chronic hepatitis B in China (2019) in the treatment of patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis who had received a TIPS. METHODS: The clinical data of 137 patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis with portal hypertension after receiving TIPS at our centre between March 2016 and December 2020 were analysed retrospectively. According to different anti-viral drugs, the patients were divided into entecavir (ETV) (n = 70), tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF) (n = 32), and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) (n = 35) groups. The cumulative incidence of hepatic encephalopathy and hepatocellular carcinoma, survival, and changes in hepatic reserve function and glomerular filtration rate in patients treated with different antiviral drugs within 24 mo after surgery were investigated. RESULTS: At 24 mo after surgery, the Child–Pugh score in the TAF group (6.97 ± 0.86) was lower than that in the TDF (7.49 ± 0.82; t = -2.52, P = 0.014) and ETV groups (7.64 ± 1.17; t = -2.92, P = 0.004). The model for end-stage liver disease score in the TAF group at 24 mo after surgery was 9.72 ± 1.5, which was lower than that in the TDF (10.74 ± 2.33; t = -2.09, P = 0.040) and ETV groups (10.97 ± 2.17; t = -2.93, P = 0.004). At 24 mo after surgery, the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in the TAF group (104.41 ± 12.54) was higher than that in the TDF (93.54 ± 8.97) and ETV groups (89.96 ± 9.86) (F = 21.57, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: At 24 mo after surgery, compared with TDF and ETV, TAF has significant advantages in the improvement of liver functional reserve and eGFR.