Journal of Clinical Trials
Open Access
ISSN: 2167-0870
ISSN: 2167-0870
Toru Shizuma
Objective: There have been few studies of bacterascites among liver cirrhosis (LC) patients, although spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) has been well studied. Moreover, there have been no comparative studies of bacterascites and sterile ascites among LC patients. Therefore, we compared the characteristics of bacterascites, SBP, and sterile ascites among LC patients.
Methods: Characteristics of bacterascites, SBP, and sterile ascites were retrospectively compared among 476 LC patients with ascites (547 paracentesis procedures, which included laboratory examinations and bacterial cultures of ascitic fluid) in Japan.
Result: The frequencies of bacterascites and SBP were 2.6% (14/545) and 6.1% (33/545), respectively. Serum albumin and total protein levels in the ascitic fluid were significantly lower in the bacterascites group than in the sterile ascites group (498/545). However, no significant differences were observed in the Child–Pugh scores, incidence of type І hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), or short-term mortality rates between the bacterascites and sterile ascites groups. However, these parameters were significantly higher in the SBP group than in the sterile ascites group.
Conclusion: No significant differences in short-term prognosis were observed among the groups because there appears to be no significant difference in the severity of liver dysfunction associated with underlying LC and the incidence of type І HRS between patients with bacterascites and sterile ascites. However, SBP was associated with a significantly poorer prognosis than sterile ascites.