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Intraperitoneal corticosteroids for recurrent ascites in patients with Fontan circulation: Initial clinical experience
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  • Fred Wu,
  • Anne Valente,
  • Peter Nigrovic,
  • Anna Rutherford,
  • Michael Singh
Fred Wu
Boston Children's Hospital

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Anne Valente
Boston Children's Hospital
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Peter Nigrovic
Brigham and Women's Hospital
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Anna Rutherford
Brigham and Women's Hospital
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Michael Singh
Boston Children's Hospital
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Abstract

Individuals with single-ventricle congenital heart disease who are palliated to a Fontan circulation are at risk for heart failure and liver disease, with recurrent ascites being one potentially debilitating cause of late morbidity. Although ascites associated with heart failure or liver failure is usually characterized by a high serum-ascites albumin gradient (SAAG), we have observed multiple instances of ascites in Fontan patients with low SAAG, suggesting an inflammatory process. We present three cases in which recalcitrant ascites severely and adversely impacted quality of life, and describe our initial experience with intraperitoneal corticosteroids in this setting.
24 Jun 2020Submitted to Journal of Cardiac Surgery
25 Jun 2020Submission Checks Completed
25 Jun 2020Assigned to Editor
25 Jun 2020Reviewer(s) Assigned
23 Nov 2020Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
24 Nov 2020Editorial Decision: Accept
11 Dec 2020Published in Journal of Cardiac Surgery. 10.1111/jocs.15244