Expanding consensus in portal hypertension

Portal hypertension is the haemodynamic abnormality associated with the most severe complications of cirrhosis, including ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and bleeding from gastroesophageal varices. Variceal bleeding is a medical emergency associated with a mortality that, in spite of recent progress, is still in the order of 10–20% at 6weeks. The evaluation of diagnostic tools and the design and conduct of good clinical trials for the treatment of portal hypertension have always been difficult. Awareness of these difficulties has led to the organisation of a series of consensus meetings.