OBJECTIVETo explore the clinical value of serum procalcitonin (PCT) for predicting spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in end-stage liver diseases.

METHODSThe clinical data of 362 ascitic inpatients with end-stage liver diseases who had underwent serum PCT assay in our department from March 2011 to June 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. These patients were then divided into SBP group (n=178) and non-SBP group (n=184). The dynamic changes of the PCT values upon admission and after antibiotic treatment were compared. The receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn to identify the optimal cut-off value of serum PCT in diagnosing SBP.

RESULTSThe positive rate of bacteria culture in ascites was only 4.6% (4/87) in SBP group. The median value of serum PCT was 0.73 and 0.15 ng/ml in SBP group and non-SBP group (Z=-11.9, U=0.000), respectively, before antibiotic treatment. In the SBP group, the median value of serum PCT was 1.73 ng/ml in 13 patients with positive culture findings, which was higher than the overall median value in SBP group. Among patients who were responsive to the antibiotic therapy, the median values of serum PCT were 0.40(n=46), 0.32(n=19), and 0.33 ng/ml(n=25), respectively, 3, 5, and 7 days after the effective antibiotics treatment, which were significantly lower than the pre-treatment levels [0.86(Z=-5.91, U=0.000), 0.72(Z=-3.10, U=0.002), and 0.79 ng/ml(Z=-4.37, U=0.000), respectively]. ROC analysis showed that a serum PCT value of more than 0.462 ng/ml had a sensitivity of 83.7% and a specificity of 94.9%(AUC:0.95, 95%CI:0.93-0.97, P=0.00) in diagnosing SBP in patients with end-stage liver diseases.

CONCLUSIONSAscitic fluid positive rate is low in SBP patients. Serum PCT is a sensitive and specific marker for predicting peritoneal bacteria infection in end-stage liver disease patients with ascites. Higher serum PCT can be expected in these patients with heavier infections, it can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of anti-bacteria therapies.

Adult ; Aged ; Ascitic Fluid ; microbiology ; Bacterial Infections ; complications ; diagnosis ; Calcitonin ; blood ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; complications ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peritonitis ; complications ; diagnosis ; Protein Precursors ; blood ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is the most common infection in liver cirrhosis patients, and is not a result of surgery or intra abdominal infection. Argon plasma coagulation (APC) is an endoscopic procedure used with a high-frequency electrical current for control of bleeding from gastrointestinal vascular ectasias including angiodysplasia and gastric antral vascular ectasia. This procedure is known to be safe because it uses a noncontact method. Therefore, tissue injury is minimal and up to two to three millimeters. However, we experienced a case of SBP occurring immediately after performance of APC for control of severe bleeding from angiodysplasia in the colon in a patient with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Aged ; Angiodysplasia/complications/*diagnosis ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; *Argon Plasma Coagulation ; Bacterial Infections/*diagnosis/drug therapy/microbiology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/complications/diagnosis ; Colonic Diseases/complications/*diagnosis ; Colonoscopy ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/therapy ; Gram-Negative Bacteria/isolation & purification ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/complications/diagnosis ; Liver Neoplasms/complications/diagnosis ; Peritonitis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/microbiology

No abstract available.
Amphotericin B/therapeutic use ; Antifungal Agents/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Cryptococcosis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/microbiology ; Cryptococcus/classification/drug effects/*isolation & purification ; DNA, Ribosomal/chemistry/metabolism ; Fluconazole/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Middle Aged ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory ; Peritonitis/*diagnosis/etiology ; Phylogeny ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae/drug effects/isolation & purification ; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid

Tuberculous liver abscesses are rare. Paradoxical response in tuberculosis is common and occurred between 2 weeks and 12 weeks after anti-tuberculous medication. We report here a case of tuberculous liver abscess that developed in a paradoxical response during chemotherapy for tuberculous peritonitis in a 23-year-old male. He was hospitalized, complaining of ascites, epigastric pain. He was diagnosed tuberculous peritonitis by expiratory laparoscopic biopsy and took medication for tuberculosis. After 2 months, a hepatic lesion was detected with CT scan incidentally. Chronic granulomatous inflammation was seen in ultrasound-guided liver biopsy, and tuberculous liver abscess was diasnosed. It was considered as paradoxical response, rather than treatment failure or other else because clinical symptoms of peritoneal tuberculosis and CT scan improved. After continuing initial anti-tuberculous medication, he was successfully treated. Herein, we report a case of tuberculous liver abscess as paradoxical response while treating peritoneal tuberculosis without changing anti-tuberculous treatment regimen.
Antitubercular Agents/*adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; DNA, Bacterial/analysis ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Liver/pathology/ultrasonography ; Liver Abscess/*chemically induced/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Male ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis/genetics/isolation & purification ; Necrosis/pathology ; Peritoneum/pathology ; Peritonitis, Tuberculous/*drug therapy ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tuberculosis/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Young Adult

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a life-threatening complication in patients with ascites caused by advanced liver disease. While gram negative bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia are the common pathogens, Listeria monocytogenes has been recognized as a very rare pathogen. Empirical treatment with third generation cephalosporins does not provide adequate antibiotics coverage against L. monocytogenes. Diagnosis is often delayed as it requires confirmation from ascitic fluid culture. Herein, we describe the first case of SBP caused by L. monocytogenes in a patient with advanced alcoholic liver cirrhosis in Korea. Clinicians should be aware of the atypical pathogens, especially in patients with inadequate response to empirical antibiotics.
Ampicillin/therapeutic use ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Ascites/microbiology ; Humans ; Listeria monocytogenes/*physiology ; Listeriosis/*diagnosis/drug therapy ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic/*diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peritonitis/*diagnosis/*microbiology

No abstract available.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Cardiac Tamponade/etiology ; Drainage ; Empyema, Pleural/diagnosis/*etiology/microbiology/therapy ; Heart Diseases/diagnosis/*etiology/microbiology/therapy ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/*therapy ; Male ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/isolation & purification ; Middle Aged ; Pericardial Effusion/etiology ; Pericardial Window Techniques ; Pericardiocentesis ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory/*adverse effects ; Peritonitis/diagnosis/drug therapy/*etiology/microbiology ; Pleural Effusion/etiology ; Staphylococcal Infections/diagnosis/drug therapy/*etiology/microbiology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) has been known to greatly influence the survival rate of patients with liver cirrhosis. However, the factors that affect the survival rate in patients with SBP need to be clarified. METHODS: This study enrolled 95 liver cirrhosis patients diagnosed with SBP. The laboratory findings of their serum and ascitic fluid were examined and the characteristics of the isolated microorganisms in their peritoneal fluid were analyzed. RESULTS: The proportion of patients with culture-positive SBP was 41.1%, and 47 microorganisms were isolated from the ascitic fluid. The proportions of cultured bacteria that were Gram negative and Gram positive were 57.4% and 40.4%, respectively. The proportions of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, and Streptococcus species were 25.5%, 19.1%, and 19.1%, respectively. Enterococcus species represented 12.8% of the microorganisms cultured. The overall survival rates at 6, 12, and 24 months were 44.5%, 37.4%, and 32.2%, respectively. There was no relationship between the bacterial factors and the survival rate in SBP. Multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; P=0.001), higher serum bilirubin levels (> or =3 mg/dL, P=0.002), a prolonged serum prothrombin time (i.e., international normalized ratio >2.3, P<0.001), renal dysfunction (creatinine >1.3 mg/dL, P<0.001), and lower glucose levels in the ascitic fluid (<50 mg/dL, P<0.001) were independent predictive factors of overall survival rate. CONCLUSIONS: HCC, higher serum bilirubin levels, a prolonged serum prothrombin time, renal dysfunction, and lower ascitic glucose levels are associated with higher mortality rates in cirrhotic patients with SBP.
Adult ; Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Ascitic Fluid/metabolism/microbiology ; Bilirubin/blood ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/complications/diagnosis ; Creatinine/blood ; Female ; Glucose/analysis ; Gram-Negative Bacteria/isolation & purification ; Gram-Positive Bacteria/isolation & purification ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/complications/*mortality ; Liver Neoplasms/complications/diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Odds Ratio ; Peritonitis/complications/*diagnosis/drug therapy ; Prognosis ; Prothrombin Time ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between human neutrophil peptide (HNP) and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in order to assess the diagnostic value of quantitative measurement of these alpha-defensins.

METHODSSeventy-seven patients with cirrhosis and ascites were divided into two groups according to diagnosis of SBP (n = 45 with SBP and n = 32 without SBP). Twenty-eight healthy individuals were analyzed as controls. HNP was detected by double-antibody sandwich assay. Peripheral white blood cell (WBC) counts, neutrophil ratio, and levels of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined by standard methods. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to compare the diagnostic values of HNP, PCT and CRP in SBP.

RESULTSThere were no significant differences between the three groups (SBP, non-SBP, and healthy controls) for WBC count ((6.01+/-2.25)*109 /L, (4.85+/-1.94)*109 /L, and (5.49+/-1.76)*109 /L; F = 2.91, P more than 0.05) and neutrophil ratio (70.70%+/-10.42%, (68.20%+/-8.97%, and 69.50%+/-8.69%; F = 3.07, P more than 0.05). However, compared to the non-SBP group and the healthy controls, the SBP group showed significantly higher levels of HNP ((9.99+/-3.33) ng/ml and (8.92+/-2.30) ng/ml vs. (17.66+/-6.40) ng/ml; q = 3.20 vs. 3.52, P less than 0.05), serum CRP ((15.08+/-9.95) ng/ml and (5.96+/-2.91) ng/ml vs. (31.32+/-18.65) mg/L; q = 11.03 vs. 3.69, P less than 0.05), and positive rate of PCT (25.0% and 10.0% vs. 62.2%; X2 = 10.41 vs. 15.40, P less than 0.0125). The areas under the curve (AUC) showed the following descending trend: HNP more than PCT more than CRP (0.719, 0.707, and 0.629 respectively). Using cut-off points of 10 ng/ml for HNP, 0.5 ng/ml for PCT, and 8 mg/L for CRP, the respective sensitivities for diagnosis of SBP were 71.1%, 62.2%, and 73.3%, the respective specificities were 71.9%, 75.0%, and 56.3%, and the respective Youden's indexes were 0.430, 0.372, and 0.296.

CONCLUSIONHNP is closely related to SBP and can diagnose SBP as reliably as PCT. CRP may help to diagnose SBP, but the results from routine blood testing did not show sufficient statistical significance for diagnosing SBP.

Adult ; Aged ; Bacterial Infections ; blood ; diagnosis ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; Calcitonin ; blood ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peritonitis ; blood ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; Protein Precursors ; blood ; alpha-Defensins ; blood

Selective intestinal decontamination (SID) with norfloxacin has been widely used for the prophylaxis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) because of a high recurrence rate and preventive effect of SID for SBP. However, it does select resistant gut flora and may lead to SBP caused by unusual pathogens such as quinolone-resistant gram-negative bacilli or gram-positive cocci. Enterococcus hirae is known to cause infections mainly in animals, but is rarely encountered in humans. We report the first case of SBP by E. hirae in a cirrhotic patient who have previously received an oral administration of norfloxacin against SBP caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae and presented in septic shock.
Administration, Oral ; Ampicillin/therapeutic use ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Ascitic Fluid/microbiology ; Enterococcus/*isolation & purification ; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections/complications/drug therapy/*microbiology ; Humans ; Male ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Middle Aged ; Peritonitis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/microbiology ; Sepsis/*etiology

We describe the first case of primary peritonitis in Korea of a healthy person due to Streptococcus pyogenes. In the absence of comorbid conditions, such as liver cirrhosis, immunosuppression, or nephrotic syndrome, primary peritonitis is uncommon in a young healthy woman. Abdomen computed tomography revealed ascites in the lower abdomen and peritoneal enhancement suggesting peritonitis. In diagnostic laparoscopy, purulent ascites was found in the pelvic cavity but both ovaries and fallopian tubes were intact. There were no intra-abdominal abnormalities such as bowel perforation, appendicitis, or necrosis. The reports of blood culture, ascites culture, and cervical swab culture confirmed S. pyogenes. After use of antibiotics, the patient was cured and discharged without sequelae.
Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Peritonitis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/microbiology ; Streptococcal Infections/*diagnosis/drug therapy/microbiology ; Streptococcus pyogenes/*isolation & purification ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed