This guideline has been approved by the AASLD and represents the position of the Association. These recommendations provide a data-supported approach. They are based on the following: (1) formal review and analysis of the recently-published world literature on the topic (Medline search); (2) American College of Physicians
Manual for Assessing Health Practices and Designing Practice Guidelines1; (3) guideline policies, including the AASLD Policy on the Development and Use of Practice
Guidelines and the American Gastroenterological Association Policy Statement on Guidelines2; and (4) the author’s decades of experience caring for patients with
cirrhosis and ascites.