Active clinical trials for "Ascites"

Patients with liver cirrhosis are at risk for development of renal failure, usually after a precipitating event such as infection or bleeding. This form of renal failure has a high morbidity and mortality and may be partly caused by increased intra-abdominal pressure secondary to ascites. Recent studies have shown that paracentesis (and the resulting decreased IAP) can increase urinary output and decrease renal arterial resistive index in patients with hepatorenal syndrome (a very pronounced form of renal failure in cirrhosis patients). The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of Paracentesis on intra-abdominal pressure and kidney function in critically ill patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites across a wider range of kidney function. Kidney function will be evaluated using several estimates of glomerular filtration rate and measures of kidney injury i.e. cystatin C, serum NGAL, creatinine clearance, urinary output and renal arterial resistive index.

Ascites is the accumulation of fluid within the peritoneal cavity of the abdomen. It is a frequent complication of cirrhosis that is associated with significant morbidity and poor quality of life. Large-volume ascites has been associated with impaired pulmonary function. In a previous study, the presence and severity of ascites were determined to be significant determinants of fatigue. In this study, we will determine whether large-volume ascites contributes to fatigue by assessing the response to drainage of ascites by means of a procedure called large-volume paracentesis. We hypothesize that treatment of ascites with a single large-volume paracentesis leads to decreased fatigue and improved quality of life and that this improvement is associated with improved sleep pattern. 20 patients with cirrhosis with refractory ascites requiring regular drainage of ascites fluid by large-volume paracenteses will be recruited for the study. All patients will undergo a complete clinical and physical examination for liver function, including blood tests. Hepatic encephalopathy, a change in mental status associated with liver dysfunction, will be assessed by obtaining historical data and by means of simple bedside neuropsychological examinations. Study visits will take place on two consecutive days, with each visit lasting approximately 2-3 hours. Immediately prior to a large-volume paracentesis, patients will complete standardized questionnaires for fatigue severity, quality of life, quality of sleep, and a physical assessment of fatigue by means of a 6-minute walk test. Repeat evaluations will be performed 1 day after the procedure. Statistical analysis will then be performed to determine the effect of the paracentesis on the various clinical assessments.

Malignant ascites leads to significant morbidity in patients with terminal cancer. Paracentesis can provide relief, but repeat hospital visits, pain, and short duration of relief after paracentesis are detrimental to quality of life(QOL). Two devices are available as alternatives to paracentesis. The impact of either device on QOL has not fully been explored. A pilot nonrandomized trial measuring palliative care QOL and ascites symptom relief using validated survey instruments is proposed.

ProMAS is a prospective post-marketing, single-arm study to assess performance and safety of the Alfapump® system in the treatment of patients with malignant ascites. The study aims to enroll 40 patients in up to 8 sites in Europe.

Infections are frequent life-threatening events in patients with cirrhosis, occurring at least in 35% of hospitalized patients and accounting for 20% of inpatients death. Among cirrhotics, ascitic patients have the highest risk of death for sepsis. At the admission, no clear-cut clinical and biochemical features are helpful in diagnosing and prognostically stratifying those patients with sepsis. Procalcitonin (PCT)is a breakthrough marker presenting high sensibility and specificity in diagnosing bacterial infections in different clinical settings. The purpose of this study is to evaluate PCT as a diagnostic and prognostic tool for sepsis in hospitalized cirrhotic patients with ascitic decompensation.

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a severe complication of ascites in cirrhotic patients. Under clinical experience, this condition seems to be more uncommon in Finland. The aim of this study was to measure the incidence of SBP in consecutive patients with ascites requiring hospitalization in a Finnish University Hospital.

Multicentric, observational and prospective study with two groups of treatment: Refractory ascites and non-refractory ascites. All patients should be prescribed beta-adrenergic blockers as primary or secondary profilaxis for variceal bleeding.

The aim of our study was to evaluate hemodynamic changes during routine paracentesis in tense ascites using non-invasive inert gas rebreathing.

Malnutrition due to liver disease is common, however, their detection is difficult. The parameters used for nutritional assessment in clinical practice have limited use in this patient population. From this perspective, this study proposes to develop predictive equations for body composition for electrical bioimpedance (BIA) in cirrhotic patients. Besides being a fast and risk free, the BIA offers the additional advantage of low cost compared to other methods that assess body composition (BC). Will be selected patients male with liver cirrhosis (n = 112) of the Liver Transplant Clinic of the Hospital of the Clinicas, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo. This pioneering study is of great clinical importance because malnutrition is a relevant factor in the prognosis of liver disease and there is not efficient method in clinical practice to properly assess the body composition in this population.

The low sodium intake is important for ascites control in liver cirrhosis patients. Therefore, World Health Organization (WHO) recommends reduction of sodium (Na) to 2g/day for adults. The 24-hour urine Na excretion has been regarded as a standard method to estimate the amount of daily dietary sodium intake. However, it is too inconvenient to apply to patients or the general population in practice. For this reason, it has been suggested that a spot urine Na/potassium (K) ratio could be replaced with the 24-hour urine Na excretion. However, the evidence is not sufficient for that. The investigators will evaluate the usefulness of spot urine Na/K ratio to estimate the dietary sodium intake. The investigators will also verify several formulas of estimating the 24-hour Na excretion with spot urine Na, K, Creatinine (Cr).