Management of portal hypertension in children.

Portal hypertension can be caused by a wide variety of conditions. It frequently presents with bleeding from esophageal varices. The approach to acute variceal hemorrhage in children is a stepwise progression from least invasive to most invasive. Management of acute variceal bleeding is straightforward. But data on primary prophylaxis and long term management prevention of recurrent variceal bleeding in children is scarce, therefore prospective multicenter trials are needed to establish best practices.