ABSTRACT
Tense ascites is one of the most disabling and distressing manifestation of liver cirrhosis. In the presence of ascites alteration in ventricular function is marked. Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone and sympathetic nervous system, whose activation is marked when tense ascites develops, could be involved as pathogenic factors causing increased left ventricular wall thickness. Large volume para-centesis [LVP] is an old but safe and effective procedure to mobilize ascitic fluid in cirrhotic patients The study evaluated the left ventricular function in patients with liver cirrhosis and tense ascites and determine the effect of total abdominal paracentesis on cardiac performance and correlated between cardiac performance and some humoral factors [renin, aldosterone, nor-epinephrine and epineph-rine] in cirrhotic patients with ascites. Fifty cirrhotic patients with tense ascites, besides 20 normal persons matched with patients in age and gender as a control group were included in our study. All patients were hospitalized and, submitted to a 4 days bed rest, low sodium diet and subjected to full investigations clinically and laboratory. Abdominal paracentesis was done to all patients [mean volume 7.5+11.7 L] with dexran-70 infusion. Blood samples were taken before and immediately after paracentesis for neurohormonal assay [plasma rennin activity PRA, plasma aldosterone PA, plasma nor-epinephrine and epinephrine]. The plasma renin activity, plasma aldosterone, plasma epinephrine, and plasma nor epinephrine was significantly higher than control. They showed significant reduction after paracentesis but still significantly higher than control levels. The results showed that sudden abdominal decompression could play a role in the post paracentesis systemic haemodynamic changes through mechanical decompression of the splanchinic vascular bed. Total paracentesis with albumin infusion causes immediate favorable effects; increasing cardiac output, suppressing plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone, decreasing serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen and reducing portal pressure and Porto collateral blood flow