An unusual cause of ascites: Castleman disease

Castleman disease (CD) is a group of rare lymphoproliferative diseases with common lymph node histological features that can easily be misdiagnosed as infections, multiple autoimmune diseases, and malignant tumors. Here we report a rare case of a Chinese male with refractory ascites for two years and was eventually diagnosed as CD. The challenges in diagnosis of CD arise from the large differential, clinical heterogeneity and our limited understanding of pathology. In case of rare ascites, CD needs to be considered.