https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30908382 Portal Hypertension
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2019 Mar 18. doi: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000002333. [Epub ahead of print]
Clinically Evident Portal Hypertension: An Operational Research Definition for Future Investigations in the Pediatric Population.
Bass LM1, Shneider BL2, Henn L3, Goodrich NP3, Magee JC4; Childhood Liver Disease Research Network (ChiLDReN).

Abstract

Portal Hypertension (PHT) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric liver diseases. Thus, research into causes and disease modifiers in PHT in these conditions is vitally important. PHT is rarely directly or indirectly measured in the assessment of children with chronic liver disease. A straightforward, reproducible definition of portal hypertension could be invaluable for consistently identifying patients with portal hypertension and for grouping these patients according to their risk of complications from their disease. We propose the term Clinically Evident Portal Hypertension (CEPH) to denote clinical findings that demonstrate evidence of elevated portal pressure. When CEPH criteria are met, PHT is highly likely to be present, although it is likely that PHT exists for variable periods of time prior to meeting CEPH criteria. Use of this research definition of CEPH will allow for consistent identification of these patients by clinicians in nearly any clinical setting and serve as a clinical milepost that may dictate future prognosis in pediatric patients with cirrhosis.