1. Any varices ‐ comparisons between tests.

Any varices ‐ indirect comparisons
Index test	No. of studies	Cut‐off value	Sensitivity (95% CI)	Specificity (95% CI)	P value*
Platelet count	10	Around 150,000/mm3	0.71 (0.63 to 0.77)	0.80 (0.69 to 0.88)	0.252
Platelet count‐to‐spleen length ratio	17	909 (n/mm3)/mm	0.93 (0.83 to 0.97)	0.84 (0.75 to 0.91)
Platelet count	9	Around 150,000/mm3	0.71 (0.63 to 0.77)	0.80 (0.69 to 0.88)	0.021
Spleen length	5	Around 110 mm	0.85 (0.75 to 0.91)	0.54 (0.46 to 0.62)
Platelet count‐to‐spleen length ratio	17	909 (n/mm3)/mm	0.93 (0.83 to 0.97)	0.84 (0.75 to 0.91)	<0.001
Spleen length	5	Around 110 mm	0.85 (0.75 to 0.91)	0.54 (0.46 to 0.62)

* Pair‐wise comparisons between index tests performed by adding the index test as covariate to the bivariate model. P values were obtained by comparing the ‐2 log likelihood of the model with the covariate with the ‐2 log likelihood of the model without the covariate.