Clinical effect of octreotide combined with an increased amount of fluid infusion in treatment of intractable cirrhotic ascites

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of octreotide combined with an increased amount of fluid infusion in the treatment of intractable cirrhotic ascites, and to provide new thoughts for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods A total of 65 patients with intractable cirrhotic ascites who visited Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia University for The Nationalities from February 2016 to May 2017 were enrolled and randomly divided into control group with 31 patients and observation group with 34 patients. The patients in the control group were given conventional treatment, and those in the observation group were given continuous pumping of octreotide 0. 6 mg once every 12 hours for 3 days, followed by intramuscular injection of octreotide 0. 2 mg once every 8 hours for 7-10 consecutive days, and an increased amount of fluid infusion, in addition to the conventional treatment. Symptomatic treatment was given based on patients' symptoms and tolerance. Vital signs, abdominal circumference, body weight, and time to ascites regression were observed during treatment, and the length of hospital stay and incidence rate of complications were analyzed. The t-test was used for comparison of continuous data between groups, and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. Results Compared with the control group, the observation group had significantly shorter time to ascites regression ( 6. 13 ± 1. 25 d vs 11. 61 ± 1. 34 d, t =-4. 06, P < 0. 001) and length of hospital stay ( 10. 01 ± 1. 46 d vs 16. 10 ± 1. 57 d, t =-7. 65, P < 0. 001) , as well as significantly greater average daily reductions in abdominal circumference ( 4. 01 ± 0. 75 cm vs 2. 42 ± 0. 35 cm, t = 4. 69, P < 0. 001) and body weight ( 1. 67 ± 0. 42 kg vs 0. 97 ± 0. 54 kg, t = 4. 58, P < 0. 001) . The observation group had significantly lower incidence rates of upper gastrointestinal bleeding and electrolyte disturbance than the control group ( upper gastrointestinal bleeding: 5. 88% vs 32. 26% , χ2= 7. 49, P < 0. 05; electrolyte disturbance: 8. 82% vs 38. 71% , χ2= 8. 56, P < 0. 05) . Conclusion In addition to the conventional treatment of intractable ascites, octreotide combined with an increased amount of fluid infusion can promote spontaneous dieresis, significantly reduce the amount of ascites, shorten the time to ascites regression, reduce complications, and improve patients' conditions.