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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol. Sep 22, 2025; 16(3): 108842
Published online Sep 22, 2025. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v16.i3.108842
Published online Sep 22, 2025. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v16.i3.108842
Factors associated with refractory ascites and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in a predominantly Hispanic population: A retrospective analysis
Shivangini Duggal, Mutaz Kalas, Alan Jurado, Edwin Mendoza, Swati Mahapatra, Department of Internal Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, TX 79905, United States
Keith Garrison, Marc J Zuckerman, Alejandro Robles, Division of Gastroenterology, Texas Tech University Health Science Center, El Paso, TX 79905, United States
Author contributions: Duggal S designed the research; Duggal S, Kalas M, Jurado A, Mendoza E and Garrison K performed the research; Duggal S did the data analysis; Duggal S, Kalas M, Jurado A, Mendoza E and Garrison K wrote the original draft; Zuckerman M and Robles A did the review and editing; All authors discussed the findings described in the case and approved the final manuscript; Article guarantor is Robles A.
Institutional review board statement: The participants of study were 179 patients diagnosed with ascites (refractory or spontaneous bacterial peritonitis) and admitted to the University Medical Center, El Paso and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso between July 1, 2013 to December 31, 2023. The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (#E24123).
Informed consent statement: Exemption from informed consent was obtained via the Institutional Review Board Committee at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, TX, United States.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Data sharing statement: None.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Shivangini Duggal, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 5001 El Paso Dr, El Paso, TX 79905, United States.
Received: April 24, 2025
Revised: May 27, 2025
Accepted: July 15, 2025
Published online: September 22, 2025
Processing time: 148 Days and 11.4 Hours
Revised: May 27, 2025
Accepted: July 15, 2025
Published online: September 22, 2025
Processing time: 148 Days and 11.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: In this retrospective study of 179 cirrhotic patients with ascites, we identified key clinical predictors for refractory ascites (RA) and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in a predominantly Hispanic population. Abnormal serum potassium levels independently predicted RA, while gastrointestinal bleeding and thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 50000/µL) were significant predictors of SBP. These findings emphasize the critical role of electrolyte imbalance and coagulopathy in cirrhosis-related complications and highlight the importance of early risk stratification in vulnerable populations with limited healthcare access.