Rare diseases · Sign or symptom
Ascites
Accumulation of fluid in the abdomen
HP:0001541
What it means
Accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity (between the layers of the peritoneum that lines the abdomen).
Ascites is commonly associated with liver disease that has resulted in portal hypertension and low serum albumin levels.
Rare diseases that can present with this87
Very common80–99%
13- Budd-Chiari syndrome
- Chylous ascites
- Fetal parvovirus syndrome
- Hepatic veno-occlusive disease
- Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma
- Mosaic variegated aneuploidy syndrome
- Mucopolysaccharidosis type 7
- Müllerian derivatives-lymphangiectasia-polydactyly syndrome
- Multifocal infantile hemangioma with extracutenous involvement
- Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome
- Pseudomyxoma peritonei
- Sialidosis type 2
- TEMPI syndrome
Common30–79%
18- ALG8-CDG
- Carney triad
- Congenital pulmonary lymphangiectasia
- Congenital sialidosis type 2
- Free sialic acid storage disease
- Gallbladder neuroendocrine tumor
- Hennekam syndrome
- Hydrops fetalis
- Lethal hemolytic anemia-genital anomalies syndrome
- Ovarian fibroma
- Ovarian fibrothecoma
- Palmoplantar keratoderma-esophageal carcinoma syndrome
- POEMS syndrome
- Primary hepatic neuroendocrine carcinoma
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis
- TAFRO syndrome
- Tropical endomyocardial fibrosis
- Wolman disease
The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.
Part of the broader category
Also called: Peritoneal effusion
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Start free with EleplanThis page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.