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World J Transl Med. Sep 28, 2026; 12(3): 124020
Published online Sep 28, 2026. doi: 10.5528/wjtm.124020
Published online Sep 28, 2026. doi: 10.5528/wjtm.124020
Efficacy and safety of 6-mm vs 8-mm covered stents for tips creation: A meta-analysis
Muhammad Arsalan, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Luke’s Hospital, Chesterfield, MO 63017, United States
FNU Sawaira, Department of Medicine, Khyber Girls Medical College, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan
Umna Bhatti, Shafi Muhammad Shah, Department of Medicine, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi 75510, Pakistan
Taimoor Hassan, Department of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Safdar Ullah Dawar, Department of Medicine, Khalifa Gul Nawaz Teaching Hospital, Bannu 28100, Pakistan
Syed Nouman Ali Shah, Department of Medicine, Semey Medical University, Semey 071400, Kazakhstan
Rasheeda Shehroz, Department of Medicine, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro 76090, Pakistan
Muhammad Mughees, Department of Medicine, Bahria University Health Sciences Campus Karachi, Karachi 75500, Pakistan
Muhammad Yasir, Department of Medicine, Bach Khan Medical College, Mardan 23200, Pakistan
Madho Mal, Department of Internal Medicine, Marshall Community Health Consortium, Huntington, WV 25701, United States
Abdul Haseeb Hasan, Department of Research, Oli Health Magazine Organization, Kigali 250, Rwanda
Author contributions: Arsalan M conceived the study; Arsalan M, Sawaira F, Bhatti U, Hassan T, Shah SM, Dawar SU, Shah SNA, Shehroz R, Mughees M, Mal M and Yasir M performed study screening, data extraction, risk-of-bias assessment, data interpretation and drafting of the manuscript; Hasan AH contributed to writing-review and editing; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: No Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tool was used in the preparation of this manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Corresponding author: Abdul Haseeb Hasan, MD, Department of Research and Education, Oli Health Magazine Organization, Kigali 250, Rwanda. abdulhaseebhassan60@gmail.com
Received: June 4, 2026
Revised: July 11, 2026
Accepted: July 28, 2026
Published online: September 28, 2026
Processing time: 91 Days and 17.5 Hours
Revised: July 11, 2026
Accepted: July 28, 2026
Published online: September 28, 2026
Processing time: 91 Days and 17.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This systematic review and meta-analysis of one randomised trial and four non-randomised studies compared 6-mm and 8-mm covered stents for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt. A 6-mm effective diameter was associated with a lower risk of hepatic encephalopathy, with no detectable difference in portal-pressure-gradient target achievement, survival or shunt dysfunction, and a possible increase in variceal rebleeding. Because the certainty of evidence was low to very low, these findings are hypothesis-generating and should not yet guide the choice of stent diameter in clinical practice.