Tipsitis: incidence and outcome-a single centre experience.

Introduction: Infection of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent shunt (TIPSS) called 'Tipsitis' has been reported but appears unusual. We report here our experience of patients who were diagnosed to have Tipsitis at our centre.

Methods: Retrospective single centre study.

Randomized controlled trial of carvedilol versus variceal band ligation for the prevention of the first variceal bleed.

Unlabelled: Current therapy for preventing the first variceal bleed includes beta-blocker and variceal band ligation (VBL). VBL has lower bleeding rates, with no differences in survival, whereas beta-blocker therapy can be limited by side effects. Carvedilol, a non-cardioselective vasodilating beta-blocker, is more effective in reducing portal pressure than propranolol; however, there have been no clinical studies assessing the efficacy of carvedilol in primary prophylaxis.

Prevalence of coronary artery calcification in patients undergoing assessment for orthotopic liver transplantation.

Patients with advanced liver disease are at increased risk of cardiovascular events, especially following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is a novel and independent predictor of cardiovascular risk, but its prevalence and utility in patients with cirrhosis are unknown. The aim of this study was to define the prevalence of CAC and its association with markers of disease severity and standard measures of cardiovascular risk in a large cohort of patients undergoing OLT assessment.