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A fatal complication of ultrasound‐guided abdominal paracentesis
Author(s) -
Seidler Matthew,
Sayegh Karl,
Roy Anne,
Mesurolle Benoît
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of clinical ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.272
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1097-0096
pISSN - 0091-2751
DOI - 10.1002/jcu.22050
Subject(s) - medicine , paracentesis , ultrasound , ascites , surgery , radiology , complication , abdominal ultrasound
Ultrasound‐guided abdominal paracentesis is a procedure that is frequently performed by radiologists for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. This procedure has been shown to be safe with few complications. We report the case of a patient who underwent an ultrasound‐guided therapeutic abdominal paracentesis for refractory ascites complicated by intraperitoneal hemorrhage leading to death. This case suggests that ultrasound‐guided paracentesis may need to become a more standardized procedure and that in the event of hemorrhage, alternative treatment options such as embolization or surgical intervention should be utilized when manual compression fails. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 41 :457–460, 2013;