Peritonitis pathophysiology
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Peritonitis Main Page |
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[1]. 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[2]. Additional studies have confirmed the validity of the ascitic fluid protein concentration as the best predictor of the first episode of SBP.
References
- ↑ Runyon BA (1988). "Patients with deficient ascitic fluid opsonic activity are predisposed to spontaneous bacterial peritonitis". Hepatology. 8 (3): 632–5. PMID 3371881.
- ↑ Runyon BA (1986). "Low-protein-concentration ascitic fluid is predisposed to spontaneous bacterial peritonitis". Gastroenterology. 91 (6): 1343–6. PMID 3770358.