Medium urgency
-Moderately severe
Combination of signs and symptoms due to excessive accumulation of fluid in the dependent areas and abdomen.
There are several causes, the most common being cirrhosis of the liver.
It develops with increased abdominal girth, weight gain, fatigue and difficulty breathing.
The diagnosis is based on the clinical history and a full physical examination. An echocardiogram is the method of choice to assess the amount of intra-abdominal ascites.
A doctor needs to be consulted to investigate possible causes and start treatment early.
- 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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