High Prevalence of Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Creation Without Prior Endoscopy During Acute Variceal Bleeding Hospitalization in the United States

Current clinical guidelines by both American Association for the Study of Liver Disease and European Association for the Study of the Liver recommend endoscopy in all patients admitted with acute variceal bleeding within 12 hours of admission. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation may be considered in patients at high risk if hemorrhage cannot be controlled endoscopically. We conducted a cross‐sectional observational study to assess how frequently TIPS is created for acute variceal bleeding in the United States without preceding endoscopy. Adult patients undergoing TIPS creation for acute variceal bleeding in the United States (n = 6,297) were identified in the last 10 available years (2007‐2016) of the National Inpatient Sample. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between endoscopy nonutilization and hospital characteristics, controlling for patient demographics, income level, insurance type, and disease severity. Of 6,297 discharges following TIPS creation for acute variceal bleeding in the United States, 31% (n = 1,924) did not receive first‐line endoscopy during the same encounter. Rates of “no endoscopy” decreased with increasing population density of the hospital county (nonmicropolitan counties 43%, n = 114; mid‐size metropolitan county 35%, n = 513; and central county with >1 million population 23%, n = 527) but not by hospital teaching status (n = 1,465, 32% teaching vs. n = 430, 26% nonteaching; P = 0.10). Higher disease mortality risk (odds ratio, 0.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.22‐0.80; P = 0.02) was associated with lower odds of noncompliance. Conclusion: One third of all patients undergoing TIPS creation for acute variceal bleeding in the United States do not receive first‐line endoscopy during the same encounter. Patients admitted to urban hospitals are more likely to receive guideline‐concordant care.