The role of imaging in patients with ascites

Imaging plays a significant role in patients with ascites for assessing the size and the causes of ascitic fluid, for assisting sampling or draining of ascitic fluid, for selecting candidates for TIPS placement, and for surveilling and detecting complications after TIPS placement. Sonography and CT are primary imaging tools, and MR imaging is used in selected cases such as demonstration of peritoneal or ascitic fluid enhancement, particularly in patients with compromised renal function. Interventional procedures combined with CT and sonography play a major role in the assessment of patients considered for TIPS placement because of refractory esophageal bleeding or ascites. Before the TIPS procedure, these procedures are used to exclude contraindications such as polycystic liver disease, hypervascular hepatic tumors, and portal vein thrombosis. After the TIPS procedure, sonography combined with interventional procedures is used to detect immediate complications such as hemorrhage or intractable shunt-induced encephalopathy due to excessive portosystemic diversion and to detect and treat mid- to long-term complications such as shunt stenosis and occlusion through a routine surveillance program.