Complications of diagnostic paracentesis in patients with liver disease
A. Mallory and J. W. Schaefer
A retrospective analysis of 242 consecutive diagnostic abdominal
paracenteses in patients with liver disease disclosed seven major
complications, including serious hemorrhage (four), perforation of bowel
with generalized peritonitis (one), perforation of bowel with abdominal
wall abscess (one), and a catheter fragment left in the abdominal wall or
cavity (one). The results of this study emphasize the potential dangers of
this procedure in these patients and raise the possibility that
complications may be more common than previously thought.
