MANAGEMENT OF ASCITES, HEPATORENAL-SYNDROME, AND SPONTANEOUS BACTERIAL PERITONITIS IN CIRRHOSIS

In the past few years, there have been important advances in the field of management of ascites and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in cir rhosis. The reintroduction of therapeutic paracentesis has markedly mo dified the way in which patients hospitalized for large ascites are tr eated. Likewise, the use of more potent and less nephrotoxic antibioti cs has significantly improved the resolution rate of spontaneous bacte rial peritonitis. Finally, there has been intensive research on the id entification of subsets of cirrhotic patients at high risk of developi ng spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and use of different prophylactic antibiotic regimens in the prevention of this complication. This arti cle describes the most recent advances in these fields.