Causes of abdominal effusion in children

I believe everyone is familiar with symptoms such as ascites. Ascites is a common symptom. There are many reasons for ascites, so we must find out the cause of ascites in time and make targeted treatment to avoid the deterioration of the disease. Some children are prone to symptoms of ascites. Below we introduce the reasons for ascites in children.

1) Increased portal vein pressure: Under normal circumstances, the hepatic sinusoidal pressure is very low (0-2 mmHg). When portal hypertension occurs, the hepatic sinusoidal hydrostatic pressure increases (portal vein pressure of 10 mmHg is the basic condition for the formation of ascites), and a large amount of fluid flows into the Disse space, causing excessive production of hepatic lymph fluid. The volume of lymph in patients with cirrhosis is often 20 times that of normal people. When the thoracic duct cannot drain the excessive lymph fluid, it leaks directly from the liver capsule into the abdominal cavity to form ascites. Increased sinusoidal pressure can also cause activation of intrahepatic pressure receptors, which, through the hepatorenal reflex, reduces renal sodium excretion and aggravates water and sodium retention.

2) Visceral artery dilation: In the early stages of cirrhosis, visceral blood vessels dilate, maintaining effective blood volume within a normal range by increasing cardiac output and heart rate. In the advanced stage of cirrhosis, visceral artery dilation becomes more obvious, resulting in a significant decrease in effective arterial circulating blood volume and a drop in arterial pressure, which in turn activates the sympathetic nervous system, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, and increases the release of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) to maintain arterial pressure, causing renal vasoconstriction and sodium and water retention. Portal hypertension interacts with visceral vasodilation to alter intestinal capillary pressure and permeability, favoring fluid accumulation in the peritoneal cavity.

3) Decreased plasma colloid osmotic pressure: Patients with cirrhosis have reduced intake, decreased liver reserve function, and decreased ability to synthesize albumin, which leads to decreased plasma albumin and, in turn, decreased plasma colloid osmotic pressure. A large amount of fluid enters the tissue space, forming peritoneal effusion.

4) Other factors: Relative deficiency of plasma central natriuretic peptide and decreased sensitivity of the body to it, reduced inactivation of estrogen, increased secretion of antidiuretic hormone leading to drainage dysfunction and decreased secretion of prostaglandins, resulting in renal vasoconstriction, decreased renal perfusion, and redistribution of renal blood flow, all of which are related to the formation and persistence of ascites.

In the above article, we introduced a common symptom, that is, abdominal effusion. We know that abdominal effusion can easily cause us many troubles, so we must pay attention to this symptom. The above article introduces in detail the reasons why children have abdominal effusion.