Portal hypertension is a key driver of life-threatening clinical complications such as bleeding from gastro-oesophageal varices, ascites and hepatic encephalopathy. It mostly develops in patients with advanced chronic liver disease (ACLD) but may also occur in vascular liver disease, most commonly in the recently introduced entity porto-sinusoidal vascular disorder (PSVD).

Non-invasive tests (NITs) are being broadly applied in clinical practice, thereby limiting the need for (minimally) invasive procedures to patients with indeterminate non-invasive findings or in specific clinical scenarios. While introducing personalised medicine into the field of portal hypertension, the increasing complexity of NITs (e.g., not only vibration-controlled but also shear wave elastography, not only liver but also spleen stiffness, blood-based NITs, and in the near future, the integration of this plethora of information by artificial intelligence) has led to new educational needs, both in the fields of ACLD and PSVD. Importantly, all of these NITs have pitfalls and require proficient knowledge for appropriate clinical application and adequate selection of patients in whom complementary (minimally) invasive testing (i.e., assessment of the hepatic venous pressure gradient, endoscopic ultrasound-guided portal pressure gradient measurement, or liver biopsy) is indicated, for which substantial expertise is required.

Finally, appropriate patient selection for transhepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) as minimally invasive treatment for complications of portal hypertension is being discussed.

School Organisers:

• Lorenz Balcar
• Annalisa Berzigotti
• Virginia Hernández-Gea
• Mattias Mandorfer
• Thomas Reiberger

Please note that the programme is subject to change, and will be updated continuously up to the school event.

The aim of this course is to foster a new generation of physicians and physician-scientists working in the field of ACLD/PSVD who are highly skilled in portal hypertension.

• Introducing personalised medicine into the field of portal hypertension.
• Proficiency in non-invasive testing strategies despite increasing complexity of NITs (e.g., not only vibration-controlled but also shear wave elastography, not only liver but also spleen stiffness, blood-based NITs, and the integration of this plethora of information by artificial intelligence), both in the fields of ACLD and PSVD.
• Potential pitfalls of NITs.
• Appropriate clinical application and adequate selection of patients in whom complementary (minimally) invasive testing (i.e., assessment of the hepatic venous pressure gradient, endoscopic ultrasound-guided portal pressure gradient measurement, or liver biopsy) is indicated.
• Minimally invasive treatment for complications of portal hypertension by TIPS.

• Appropriate clinical application and interpretation of NITs as well as adequate selection of patients in whom complementary minimally invasive testing is require or who may benefit from TIPS.
• Case-based discussions on ACLD and PSVD.
• Combined cutting-edge expertise from the EASL consortia Baveno Cooperation and VALDIG with local expertise in interventional hepatology, advanced endoscopy, and intensive care, as well as multidisciplinary discussions with radiology.

• Hepatologists
• Clinical Scientists