[Home paracentesis in palliative care performed by primary care doctors: Presentation of a case]

Home paracentesis is a relatively simple and safe. Applied in the field of palliative home care by primary care physicians significantly increases patient comfort and gratitude from both patient and family, and avoids continuous visits to hospital emergency services to perform this technique on a regular basis. The patient is terminal, usually with pain, with distant metastases and multiple symptoms, where transfers by ambulance, waiting times, continuous admissions and discharges, have a big impact. We report a case of a patient with end-stage hepatocellular carcinoma in which we performed home paracentesis in collaboration with the palliative care support team of our hospital, with good results. Home monitoring by the primary care physician can help to improve both the care and the quality of life of these patients by increasing coordination between care levels and avoid hospital admissions.