• Lucia Macken, Deepak Joshi, Jenny Messenger, Mark Austin, Jeremy Tibble, Louise Mason, and Sumita Verma.
• 1 Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Brighton, UK.
• Palliat Med. 2017 Jul 1; 31 (7): 671-675.

BackgroundAscites, the commonest complication of cirrhosis, leads to frequent hospitalisations. Refractory ascites confers a median survival of 6 months without liver transplantation. In many, the management remains palliative (large-volume paracentesis). Despite calls for improvement, palliative and end-of-life care is not yet integrated into end-stage liver disease. Long-term abdominal drains are a palliative strategy in malignant ascites, but not end-stage liver disease.Case PresentationA retrospective, single centre, case series review was performed of patients undergoing long-term abdominal drain placement for refractory ascites secondary to end-stage liver disease at a large teaching hospital between August 2011 and March 2013. Case management: Patients with end-stage liver disease and refractory ascites, where liver transplantation was not an option, were considered for long-term abdominal drains. Seven patients underwent successful long-term abdominal drain insertion after multi-professional assessment. Case outcome: Following long-term abdominal drain insertion, mean hospital attendances reduced to 1 (0-4) from 9 (4-21), with none for ascites management. Median survival after long-term abdominal drain insertion was 29 days (8-219). The complication rate was low and none life threatening.ConclusionPalliative and end-of-life care needs in end-stage liver disease remain under-addressed. Our data suggest that long-term abdominal drains may be a safe and effective palliative intervention in end-stage liver disease. Prospective randomised controlled trials comparing large-volume paracentesis versus long-term abdominal drains in refractory ascites secondary to end-stage liver disease are warranted.

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