Peritonitis pathophysiology

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: Shivani Chaparala M.B.B.S [2]

• Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is thought to result from a combination of factors related to Cirrhosis and Ascites, such as prolonged bacteremia secondary to compromised host defenses, intrahepatic shunting of colonized blood, and defective bactericidal activity within the ascitic fluid. Contrary to earlier theories, transmucosal migration of bacteria from the gut to the ascitic fluid is no longer considered to play a major role in the etiology of SBP.
• With respect to compromised host defenses, patients with severe acute or chronic liver disease are often deficient in complement and may also have malfunctioning of the neutrophilic and reticuloendothelial systems.
• As for the significance of ascitic fluid proteins, it was demonstrated that cirrhotic patients with ascitic protein concentrations below 1 g/dL were 10 times more likely to develop SBP than individuals with higher concentrations. Additional studies have confirmed the validity of the ascitic fluid protein concentration as the best predictor of the first episode of SBP.