A 74-year-old male with PMH significant for coronary artery…
A 74-year-old male with PMH significant for coronary artery bypass surgery (6 years ago), history of alcohol abuse and remote history of cigarette use. Patient reports that he quit smoking approximately 50 years ago. Patient presents to your office, complaining of abdominal and ankle swelling, decreased energy, and poor appetite for the past 2 months. He says that he was previously in excellent health and walked 3 miles per day. Now he is too weak and tired to even care for his own yard. The patient is a fragile-appearing elderly man with temporal wasting. There is no jugular venous distention (JVD). The lungs are clear to auscultation. The heart sounds are regular, with no murmurs or gallops. The abdomen is protuberant with bulging flanks. Shifting dullness is present. There is 2+ ankle edema bilaterally and scattered telangiectasias on skin exam. He has no asterixis. Paracentesis is performed and ascites fluid analysis reveals serum-ascites albumin gradient (SAAG) = 1.4. Which of the following statements about this patient’s SAAG result is correct?