Ascites

  • Rossana Román Vargas Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati Martins - ESSALUD
Keywords: Ascites, Peripheral vasodilation, Rennin-angiotensin-aldosteron, Hepatorenal syndrome, Refractory ascites, Paracentesis, Diuretics, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis

Abstract

Ascites is the abnormal accumulation of fluid into the peritoneal cavity, which in the cirrhotic patient is due to a number of determinant factors. Many theories have been elaborated in that regard during the previous decades, however the current concept states that the chief pathophysiologic mechamism of ascites formation is a permanent state of peripheral vasodilation in the cirrhotic patient, associated with a relative renal hypoperfusion, which in turn activates a host of sodium and water retaining mechanisms. It is a progressive phenomenon and its natural history can be viewed as a spectrum of disease, having at one end of the spectrum the so called hepatorenal syndrome, with ascites refractory to diuretic treatment and a higher frequency of bacterial colonization of the ascitic fluid, so called spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. This article reviews the pathophysiology, diagnosis, complications and therapeutic aspects of ascites in the cirrhotic patient.

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Published
2007-03-31
How to Cite
1.
Román Vargas R. Ascites. Acta Med Peru [Internet]. 2007Mar.31 [cited 2024Mar.28];24(1):34 -39. Available from: https://amp.cmp.org.pe/index.php/AMP/article/view/1233
Section
REVIEW ARTICLE