RT Book, Section A1 Killu, Claude A1 Ault, Mark A2 Oropello, John M. A2 Pastores, Stephen M. A2 Kvetan, Vladimir SR Print(0) ID 1136419966 T1 Paracentesis T2 Critical Care YR 1 FD 1 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9780071820813 LK accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1136419966 RD 2024/03/28 AB KEY POINTSParacentesis is a relatively safe procedure that can be performed in either the inpatient or outpatient setting.Diagnostic paracentesis should be performed on any patient with newly diagnosed ascites or any patient with known ascites that has a change in clinical status.Therapeutic “total paracentesis,” the removal of all of the ascites with albumin replacement, is a safe technique for the treatment of symptomatic ascites.Coagulation testing need not be performed and correction of coagulation abnormalities prior to paracentesis is unnecessary.A-2 probe ultrasound technique (low-frequency probe to find an optimal fluid pocket and high-frequency probe to evaluate the abdominal wall for vessels) should be used in all cases.