Etiological diagnosis and standard treatment of portal hypertension should be taken seriously / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

Portal hypertension (PH) referes to an abnormal increase in portal venous pressure due to increased resistance and/or blood flow of the portal vein or backflow obstruction of the hepatic veins and often manifests as splenomegaly, hypersplenism, gastroesophageal varices and bleeding, ascites, and hepatic encephalopathy. Liver synthetic dysfunction is often seen in sinusoidal PH caused by liver cirrhosis, while it is less often seen in pre-hepatic/pre-sinusoidal PH due to abnormalities in the extrahepatic and intrahepatic portal veins or post-hepatic/post-sinusoidal PH due to backflow obstruction of the extrahepatic and intrahepatic hepatic veins. The presence or absence of PH can be determined by clinical symptoms, signs, and hematological parameters, and type and etiology can be clarified by imaging examinations, hepatic venous pressure gradient, and histopathological features. In addition to the active treatment of primary diseases, nonselective beta-blockers, endoscopy, and interventional or surgical therapy should be used for the prevention and treatment of PH complications.