Tan, ChewKaravalaki, MariaKaragiannidis, A.Koulaouzidis, A.Hepatic hydrothorax is an infrequent complication of cirrhosis and symptoms are mainly related to shortness of breath, cough and chest discomfort. A number of different pathogenetic mechanisms have been postulated for the development of pleural effusions in cirrhotic patients. Spontaneous infection of the pleural fluid, defined as spontaneous bacterial empyema, is a serious complication characterized by high mortality rate. Diagnosis is based on high clinical suspicion and initial therapy of hepatic hydrothorax is aimed at suppressing the production of ascites with administration of diuretics and restriction of sodium intake. When these fail (10% of cases) and thoracentesis is required every 2-3 weeks, the hydrothorax is defined as refractory and alternative more aggressive therapeutic strategies, such as thoracoscopic repair of diaphragmatic defects with pleural sclerosis, transjugular percutaneous intrahepatic porto-systemic shunt placement (TIPSS) and liver transplantation, must be considered. Key words: Hepatic Hydrothorax, spontaneous bacterial empyema, hepatic cirrhosis, TIPSSapplication/pdfhttp://www.annalsgastro.gr/index.php/annalsgastro/article/view/465engHellenic Society of Gastroenterology1792-74631108-7471Annals of Gastroenterology; Volume 19, No 3 (2006)Hepatic hydrothoraxinfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion2007-04-09Δημοσίευση σε περιοδικόPublication in journalΓαστροεντερολογίαGastroenterologyisi -Gastroenterology & Hepatology covers resources on the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and pathology of the digestive system. This category includes specific resources on the prognosis and treatment of digestive diseases; stomach ulcers; metabolic, genetic, infectious and chemically induced diseases of the liver; colitis; diseases of the pancreas and diseases of the rectum.ΑναφοράReportΕλληνική Γαστροεντερολογική ΕταιρίαGreek Aggregator OpenArchives.gr | National Documentation Centre (EKT)other