Ascites: causes, diagnosis and management

Ascites, the collection of fluid within the peritoneal space is caused due to a variety of causes including cirrhosis, cardiac causes, sinusoidal obstruction syndrome, tubercular peritonitis and pancreatitis, amongst others. Most commonly, the cause of ascots may be cirrhosis , which in turn, is most frequently causes by alcohol use, hepatitis C and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. At the heart of the ascitic fluid analysis is the serum albumin ascitic gradient, the differential diagnosis of which has been discussed in detail in this presentation. Both low SAAG and high SAAG ascites have been dealt with in some depth, with a brief overview of the management of these conditions