title: Clinical features and management of malignant ascites.
abstract: Retrospective analysis of 45 patients (33 females, 12 males) with cytologically-proven malignant ascites is presented. Abdominal pain was the most frequent symptom (69%). Fiftythree percent cases had low serum albumin. Ascitic fluid was haemorrhagic or serosanguinous in 48% cases, in the rest it was clear or straw-coloured. Peritoneal effusion was exudative in 84% cases. Mean glucose content of ascitic fluid was 95 mg/dl and the mean white cell count of 919 cells/cmm. Vast majority (82%) of the cases had metastatic adenocarcinomas. Primary malignancy was mostly ovarian (47%) followed by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (11%) and gall bladder carcinoma (9%). Primary site could not be identified in 13% cases. Sixty-two percent patients received systemic chemotherapy for the underlying malignancy, of these 43% had complete or partial resolution of the ascites. Of the patients whose long-term follow-up is available, 54% were alive with a median follow-up of 9 months.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Obstetrics-Gynaecology, Aga Khan University, Karachi.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abubakar
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rizwana
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rizvi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001201:Ascites / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies