What is the treatment for ascites?
The treatment of ascites depends on it's cause. The basic treatment for ascites is bed rest and a salt-restricted diet, usually combined with drugs called diuretics, which make the kidneys excrete more water into the urine. If ascites makes breathing or eating difficult, the fluid may be removed through a needle - a procedure called therapeutic paracentesis. The fluid tends to reaccumulate unless the person also takes a diuretic. Because a large amount of albumin (the major protein in plasma) is usually lost from the blood into the abdominal fluid, albumin may be administered intravenously. In the majority of
patients, cirrhosis leading to portal hypertension is the major cause. A particular value of recognizing portal hypertension as a cause of ascites is that medical management using diuretics and salt restriction is often effective in portal hypertensive patients. Conversely, ascites due to peritoneal inflammation or malignancy alone does not respond to salt restriction and diuretics.
Moderate-to-severe accumulations of fluid are treated by draining large amounts of fluid (large-volume paracentesis) from the patient's abdomen. This procedure is safer than diuretic therapy. It causes fewer complications and requires a shorter hospital stay. Large-volume paracentesis is also the preferred treatment for massive ascites. Diuretics are sometimes used to prevent new fluid accumulations, and the procedure may be repeated periodically. An infection called spontaneous bacterial peritonitis occasionally develops in ascitic fluid for no apparent reason, especially in people with alcoholic cirrhosis. Untreated, this infection can be fatal. Survival depends on early vigorous treatment with antibiotics.
Dietary alterations, focused on reducing salt intake, should be a part of the treatment. In less severe cases, herbal diuretics like dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) can help eliminate excess fluid and provide potassium. Potassium-rich foods like low-fat yogurt, mackerel, cantaloupe, and baked potatoes help balance excess sodium intake. |
More information on ascites
What is ascites? - Ascites is the presence of excess fluid in the peritoneal cavity. Ascites is more often associated with liver disease and other long-lasting (chronic) conditions.
What causes ascites? - Ascites occur in long-standing disorders including cirrhosis, alcoholic hepatitis without cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, and obstruction of the hepatic vein.
What're the symptoms of ascites? - Mild ascites is hard to notice, but severe ascites leads to abdominal distension. Some chronic ascites patients develop hepatic hydrothrorax.
How is ascites diagnosed? - Several blood tests are commonly performed for ascites, including full blood count, electrolytes and renal function, liver enzymes, and glucose.
What is the treatment for ascites? - The basic treatment for ascites is bed rest and a salt-restricted diet, usually combined with drugs called diuretics. |
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