Ascitic cholesterol is superior to serum-ascites albumin gradient in the detection of non-portal hypertensive ascites and the diagnosis of mixed ascites.

Ascitic cholesterol is an excellent measure for detecting NPH ascites and for identifying peritoneal lesions in mixed ascites. Thus, this simple and cost-effective measure should be determined in patients with new-onset ascites (www.chictr.org.cn; ChiCTR-DCD-15006907).