Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt: A Possible Risk Factor for Direct-Acting Antiviral Treatment Failure in Patients With Hepatitis C?

Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies have revolutionized the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection, achieving sustained virological response (SVR) rates of >90% even in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis. Having observed an unusual case of repeated DAA therapy failures in a patient with a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), we assessed a possible association between prior TIPS placement and DAA failure. A structured search of our clinical database revealed 10 patients who had received DAA therapy after TIPS placement. At the time of therapy, most patients (8; 80%) presented with a Child-Pugh score B, and the following DAA regimens were used: sofosbuvir/ledipasvir ± ribavirin (5 patients), sofosbuvir/daclatasvir ± ribavirin (3), sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (2), and sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir (1). In total, 5 patients (50%) achieved an SVR, whereas a virological relapse occurred in the other half of the cases, including 2 patients with multiple relapses. In this patient cohort, SVR rates were unusually low for all regimens: sofosbuvir/ledipasvir ± ribavirin, 3/5 (60%); sofosbuvir/daclatasvir ± ribavirin, 2/3 (66%); sofosbuvir/velpatasvir, 0/2 (0%); and sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir, 0/1 (0%), and patients with a TIPS made up a relevant proportion of DAA failures in patients with cirrhosis at our center: sofosbuvir/ledipasvir, 2/18 (11%); sofosbuvir/daclatasvir, 1/4 (25%); sofosbuvir/velpatasvir, 2/3 (66%); and sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir, 1/1 (100%). Conclusion: We observed a high rate of virological relapse in patients with a TIPS who received DAA treatment and therefore postulate that TIPS placement may be a possible risk factor for DAA failure due to the profound hemodynamic changes evoked by the intervention. Longer treatment duration or addition of ribavirin might be warranted in these patients.