Peritonitis causes

Peritonitis Main Page
Patient Information
Overview
Causes
Classification Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis Secondary Peritonitis
Differential Diagnosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Venkata Sivakrishna Kumar Pulivarthi M.B.B.S [2] Shivani Chaparala M.B.B.S [3]

Overview

The most common cause of peritonitis is perforation of a hollow viscus such as perforation of the distal esophagus (Boerhaave syndrome), of the stomach (peptic ulcer, gastric carcinoma), of the duodenum (peptic ulcer), of the remaining intestine (e.g. appendicitis, diverticulitis, Meckel's diverticulum, IBD, intestinal infarction, intestinal strangulation, colorectal carcinoma, meconium peritonitis), or of the gallbladder (cholecystitis). Other causes of infected peritonitis include spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and disruption of the peritoneum, such as in cases of trauma, surgical wounds, continuous peritoneal dialysis, and intra-peritoneal chemotherapy. Causes of non-infected peritonitis include endometriosis, blunt abdominal trauma, gastric carcinoma, peptic ulcer, pelvic trauma, and pancreatitis.

Causes

Causes of peritonitis can be divided into infected and non-infected, which are as follows:

Causes of Infected Peritonitis

Perforation of a hollow viscus organ	Disruption of the peritoneum	Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP)	Systemic infections
Perforation of a hollow viscus (most common cause of peritonitis) Perforation of the distal esophagus (Boerhaave syndrome) Perforation of the stomach (peptic ulcer, Gastric carcinoma) Perforation of the duodenum (peptic ulcer) Perforations of the remaining intestine (e.g. Appendicitis, Diverticulitis, Meckel diverticulum, IBD, Intestinal infarction, Intestinal strangulation, Colorectal carcinoma, Meconium peritonitis) Perforation of the gallbladder (cholecystitis) Other possible causes for perforation Trauma Ingestion of a sharp foreign body (such as a fish bone) Perforation by an endoscope or catheter Most common organisms -mixed bacteria Gram-negative bacilli (e.g. Escherichia coli), Anaerobic bacteria (e.g. Bacteroides fragilis)	Trauma Surgical wound Peritoneal dialysis Chemotherapy Most common organisms Mixed bacteria Staphylococcus aureus Coagulase-negative staphylococci Fungi such as Candida	Peritonitis occurring in the absence of an obvious source of contamination. It occurs either in children, or in patients with ascites.	e.g. Tuberculosis

Causes of Non-Infected Peritonitis

Leakage of sterile body fluids into the peritoneum	Sterile abdominal surgery	Rarer non-infectious causes
Sterile body fluids such as Blood(e.g.Endometriosis, Blunt abdominal trauma), Gastric juice (e.g.Peptic ulcer, Gastric carcinoma), Bile (e.g. Liver biopsy), Urine (e.g. Pelvic trauma), Menstruum (e.g. salpingitis), Pancreatic juice (pancreatitis), These body fluids are sterile at first, they frequently become infected once they leak out of their organ, leading to infectious peritonitis within 24-48h.	Due to sterile foreign body inadvertently left in the abdomen after surgery (e.g. gauze, sponge)	Familial Mediterranean fever Porphyria Systemic lupus erythematosus

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	No underlying causes
Chemical/Poisoning	No underlying causes
Dental	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	No underlying causes
Drug Side Effect	No underlying causes
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	No underlying causes
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	Appendicitis, Ascites, Boerhaave syndrome, Cholecystitis, Cholelithiasis, Chronic liver disease, Diverticulitis, Gall bladder rupture, Gastrointestinal perforation, IBD, Intestinal strangulation, Mallory-Weiss syndrome, Meckel diverticulitis, Meconium peritonitis, Neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis, Pancreatitis, Peptic ulcer, Perihepatitis, Recurrent hereditary polyserositis, Toxic megacolon, Typhlitis
Genetic	No underlying causes
Hematologic	No underlying causes
Iatrogenic	Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, Intra-peritoneal chemotherapy, Surgical wounds
Infectious Disease	Bacteroides fragilis, E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, Fitz-Hugh Curtis syndrome, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Miliary tuberculosis
Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic	No underlying causes
Neurologic	No underlying causes
Nutritional/Metabolic	No underlying causes
Obstetric/Gynecologic	Endometriosis, Fitz-Hugh Curtis syndrome, Pelvic inflammatory disease
Oncologic	Colorectal carcinoma
Ophthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose/Toxicity	No underlying causes
Psychiatric	No underlying causes
Pulmonary	No underlying causes
Renal/Electrolyte	Nephritic syndrome
Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy	Systemic lupus erythematosus
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	Trauma
Urologic	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Ruptured dermoid cyst, Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis

Causes in Alphabetical Order

• Appendicitis
• Ascites
• Bacteroides fragilis
• Boerhaave syndrome
• Cholecystitis
• Cholelithiasis
• Chronic liver disease
• Colorectal carcinoma
• Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis
• Diverticulitis
• Endometriosis
• Enterobacteriaceae
• Escherichia coli
• Fitz-Hugh Curtis syndrome
• Gall bladder rupture
• Gastrointestinal perforation
• IBD
• Intestinal strangulation
• Intra-peritoneal chemotherapy
• Klebsiella pneumoniae
• Mallory-Weiss syndrome
• Meckel diverticulitis
• Meconium peritonitis
• Muckle-Wells syndrome
• Neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis
• Nephritic syndrome
• Pancreatitis
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Peptic ulcer
• Perihepatitis
• Peritoneal dialysis
• Pseudomonas
• Recurrent hereditary polyserositis
• Ruptured dermoid cyst
• Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
• Staphylococcus
• Streptococcus milleri
• Streptococcus pneumoniae
• Streptococcus pyogenes
• Surgical wounds
• Systemic lupus erythematosus
• Toxic megacolon
• Trauma
• Typhlitis
• Tuberculosis