ObjectiveTo investigate the trend of serum bilirubin in patients with liver cirrhosis before and after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS).MethodsThe data of patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension who underwent TIPS between October 2016 and June 2018 were collected retrospectively, including liver function before and after surgery (1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after surgery), preoperative and postoperative portal vein pressure, and the Child-Pugh scores, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores, and albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) scores. Paired t-test was used for the statistical measurement data. The total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), and indirect bilirubin (IBIL) levels at five time points were analyzed by analysis of variance of repeated measurement data with its own before and after comparison, and Wilcoxon signed ranks test was used for the ordered data.ResultsA total of 60 patients were included.The portal vein pressure was (27.86±2.53) mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa) before TIPS and (17.22±2.33) mm Hg after TIPS, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The common logarithm of the serum TBIL level [lg(TBIL)] before surgery and 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after surgery were (1.27±0.23), (1.44±0.21), (1.51±0.20), (1.56±0.22), (1.48±0.19) lg(μmol/L), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The common logarithm of the serum DBIL level [lg(DBIL)] at the five time periods were (0.90±0.26), (1.14±0.24), (1.18±0.25), (1.21±0.28), (1.08±0.21) lg(μmol/L), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The common logarithm of the serum IBIL level [lg(IBIL)] at the five time periods were (1.00±0.23), (1.13±0.22), (1.20±0.23), (1.26±0.21), (1.22±0.23) lg(μmol/L), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in the three liver reserve function scores (Child-Pugh, MELD, and ALBI, respectively) before and six months after operation (P>0.05). The differences in the composition of Child-Pugh and ALBI before and after surgery were not statistically significant (P>0.05).ConclusionsTIPS has a significant effect on reducing portal hypertension. Serum bilirubin levels continue to increase during a period after TIPS, but begin to decrease within 6 months.