A 60-year-old man on ICU with decompensated liver cirrhosis has a platelet count of 45 × 10⁹/L and an INR of 2.0. He requires paracentesis for tense a...

Question

A 60-year-old man on ICU with decompensated liver cirrhosis has a platelet count of 45 × 10⁹/L and an INR of 2.0. He requires paracentesis for tense ascites. Is correction of coagulation parameters required before the procedure?

Accepted Answer

No - paracentesis is a low-risk procedure; the INR in cirrhosis is unreliable for predicting bleeding risk due to rebalanced haemostasis; routine correction of INR or platelets is NOT recommended before paracentesis in cirrhotic patients

Answer

Yes - transfuse FFP to INR  100 × 10⁹/L

Answer

Only platelet transfusion is needed

Answer

Only FFP is needed

Answer

The procedure is absolutely contraindicated

uk-fficm MCQ (SBA): Paracentesis - Coagulation in Cirrhosis

A 60-year-old man on ICU with decompensated liver cirrhosis has a platelet count of 45 × 10⁹/L and an INR of 2.0. He requires paracentesis for tense ascites. Is correction of coagulation parameters required before the procedure?