Patients characteristics at randomisation
| Ligation (n=39) | TIPS (n=41) | |
| Age (y) | 54.3 (10.9) | 52.9 (13.3) |
| Sex (M/F) | 27/12 | 29/12 |
| Aetiology of liver disease (n) | ||
| Alcoholism | 24 | 25 |
| Hepatitis B virus | 2 | 3 |
| Hepatitis C virus | 3 | 1 |
| PBC | 3 | 1 |
| Sclerosing cholangitis | 1 | 3 |
| Autoimmune hepatitis | 1 | 0 |
| Haemochromatosis | 1 | 5 |
| Cryptogenic | 4 | 3 |
| Previous variceal bleed (n) | 8 | 10 |
| Previous sclerotherapy (n) | 4 | 6 |
| Associated fundal varices (n) | 6 | 8 |
| Blood units (index bleed) | 3.1 (2.5) | 3.4 (2.9) |
| Time from index bleed to randomisation (hours) | 42 (33) | 44 (35) |
| Time from randomisation to TIPS (hours) | 13 (11) | |
| Balloon tamponade | 5 | 9 |
| Pugh score | 9.8 (1.6) | 9.6 (1.6) |
| Serum bilirubin (μmol/l) | 89 (93) | 49 (37)1-150 |
| Serum albumin (g/l) | 25.0 (5.3) | 24.9 (4.5) |
| Haemoglobin (g/l) | 91 (17) | 89 (17) |
| Prothrombin (INR) | 1.41 (0.28) | 1.38 (0.25) |
PBC, primary biliary cirrhosis; INR, international normalised ratio.
↵1-150 p<0.05.