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The serum-ascites albumin gradient or gap (SAAG) is a calculation used in medicine to help determine the cause of ascites. [1] The SAAG may be a better discriminant than the older method of classifying ascites fluid as a transudate versus exudate. [2] The formula is as follows: SAAG = (serum albumin) − (albumin level of ascitic fluid).
Hypoalbuminemia (or hypoalbuminaemia) is a medical sign in which the level of albumin in the blood is low. [1] This can be due to decreased production in the liver, increased loss in the gastrointestinal tract or kidneys, increased use in the body, or abnormal distribution between body compartments.
Ascites (/ ə ˈ s aɪ t i z /; [5] Greek: ἀσκός, romanized: askos, meaning "bag" or "sac" [6]) is the abnormal build-up of fluid in the abdomen. [1] Technically, it is more than 25 ml of fluid in the peritoneal cavity, although volumes greater than one liter may occur. [4]
Liver function tests (LFTs or LFs), also referred to as a hepatic panel or liver panel, are groups of blood tests that provide information about the state of a patient's liver. [1] These tests include prothrombin time (PT/INR), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), albumin , bilirubin (direct and indirect), and others.
Bilirubin levels are normal when compensated, but may elevate as cirrhosis progresses. [citation needed] Albumin levels fall as the synthetic function of the liver declines with worsening cirrhosis since albumin is exclusively synthesized in the liver. Prothrombin time increases, since the liver synthesizes clotting factors.
Still, the blood values are approximately equal between the arterial and venous sides for most substances, with the exception of acid–base, blood gases and drugs (used in therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) assays). [6] Arterial levels for drugs are generally higher than venous levels because of extraction while passing through tissues. [6]
WHVP is used to estimate the portal venous pressure by reflecting not the actual hepatic portal vein pressure but the hepatic sinusoidal pressure. It is determined by wedging a catheter in a hepatic vein, to occlude it, and then measuring the pressure of proximal static blood (which is reflective of pressure in the sinusoids).
Portal hypertension is defined as increased portal venous pressure, with a hepatic venous pressure gradient greater than 5 mmHg. [3] [4] Normal portal pressure is 1–4 mmHg; clinically insignificant portal hypertension is present at portal pressures 5–9 mmHg; clinically significant portal hypertension is present at portal pressures greater than 10 mmHg. [5]