Medium urgency
-Moderately severe
It is a set of signs and symptoms caused by the excessive accumulation of fluid in the abdomen and lower abdomen.
There are multiple causes, the most frequent being liver cirrhosis or other liver alterations.
It presents with increased abdominal diameter, weight gain, fatigue and shortness of breath.
It is diagnosed by clinical history and complete physical examination. Ultrasonography is the test of choice to assess the amount of intra-abdominal ascites.
The physician should be consulted to study possible causes and initiate early treatment.
- Antonio Guardiola Arévalo, Juan José Sánchez Ruano, Alejandro Repiso Ortega. Ascitis. Manual de protocolos y actuación en urgencias. Hospital Virgen de la Salud, Complejo Hospitalario de Toledo. Tercera edición. 2010.453:459.
- Bruce A Runyon, MD. Evaluation of adults with ascites. UpToDate. Apr 22, 2015.
- Eric Goldberg, MD. Sanjiv Chopra, MD, MACP. Cirrhosis in adults: Overview of complications, general management, and prognosis. UpToDate. Aug 12, 2015.
- Runyon BA, AASLD. Introduction to the revised American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Practice Guideline management of adult patients with ascites due to cirrhosis 2012. Hepatology 2013- 57:1651. http://www.aasld.org/practiceguidelines/Documents/ascitesupdate2013.pdf
- Berzigotti A, Ashkenazi E, Reverter E, et al. Noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Dis Markers 2011- 31:129.
Dr. Oscar Garcia-Esquirol
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