[Effect of portal vein thrombosis on the long-term prognosis of patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis].

<b>Objective:</b> To explore the characteristics of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) formation in patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis and its effect on long-term prognosis. <b>Methods:</b> The clinical data of a cohort of patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis who visited Beijing Youan Hospital from May 2009 to August 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Enhanced CT examination was used as the standard for diagnosing PVT and its classification. Patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis without PVT at baseline were selected as the research subjects. According to whether PVT was formed during the follow-up period, they were divided into the PVT and control groups including 99 and 168 patients in the PVT and control groups with a follow-up time of 52.0 (46.7, 57.3) months. The changes in baseline and endpoint clinical indicators of the two groups were compared. Kaplan-Meier survival curve, log-rank test, and Cox regression were used to analyze the effect of PVT on prognosis. <b>Results:</b> In the PVT group, 28.28% (28/99) of patients underwent splenectomy, and 74.75% (74/99) did not receive anticoagulation therapy. The main portal vein thrombosis, portal vein branch thrombosis, and thrombosis in both groups accounted for 34.34% (34/99), 23.23% (23/99), and 15.15% (15/99), respectively. The splenic vein or superior mesenteric vein accounted for 27.27% (27/99). PVT was stable in 63.27% (63/99), progressed in 31.31% (31/99), and relieved in 5.05% (5/99) during the follow-up period. The white blood cell, hemoglobin, and platelet counts were all decreased in the PVT group compared with the baseline (<i>P</i><0.05). The international normalized ratio (INR) [1.28 (1.14, 1.39) <i>vs</i>. 1.33 (1.19, 1.46), <i>P</i>=0.041] and spleen length [(163.84±30.68) mm <i>vs</i>. (177.26±32.61) mm, <i>P</i><0.001] was increased compared with the baseline. The proportion of gastroesophageal variceal bleeding was higher in the PVT group than in the control group (57.0% <i>vs</i>. 28.7%, <i>P</i><0.001), and the constituent ratio of hepatic encephalopathy was not statistically significantly different (<i>P</i>>0.05). The proportion of patients with ascites in the control group decreased (63.1% <i>vs</i>. 41.7%, <i>P</i><0.001), while the proportion of patients with ascites in the PVT group was not statistically significantly different (<i>P</i>>0.05). The incidence of composite clinical endpoint events in the PVT and the control group was 21.21% (21/99) and 4.17% (7/168), respectively (<i>P</i>＜0.05). The incidence of composite clinical endpoint events in PVT patients without anticoagulation and anticoagulation treatment was 25.68% (19/74) and 8.00% (2/25), respectively (<i>P</i>=0.062). Cox regression analysis found that PVT formation was an independent risk factor for liver-related adverse events in patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis (<i>HR</i>=9.36, 95%<i>CI:</i> 3.65～24.02, <i>P</i>=0.001). <b>Conclusions:</b> The presence of PVT in patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis is assoliated with worse prognosis. The formation of PVT is closely related to the increased risk of liver-related adverse prognosis in patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis.