Abstract :
A50 patients of cirrhosis were enrolled for the study. Overall incidence of SBP in our study population was 54%.
The mean age of presentation in our study was 44.11years.14 patients were diagnosed to have SBPor one of its variants with
a prevalence of 34.14%. Only ascitic fluid routine microscopy and inoculation of ascitic fluid into blood culture bottle was
found to be sufficient to diagnose SBPin most cases.Abdominal pain, tenderness and fever were strong indicators of ascitic
fluid infection. Majority of patients with SBP were Culture negative neutrocytic ascites (CNNA) (63%) with isolated PMN
count of >250 cells/mm3. Culture positivity was seen in 37% of patients of SBPout of which 30% wereCNNAand 7% were
Mono-microbial non-neutrocytic bacterascites (MNBA). Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were the most
commonly isolated organisms. Peripheral leukocytosis was found to be a strong indicator for presence of ascitic fluid
infection. Classical symptoms and signs were absent in these patients and hence, definitive diagnosis could only be made by
ascitic fluid analysis and culture. Every patient of cirrhosis should be screened for SBPas delayed diagnosis can lead to fatal
outcome. Routine antibiotic coverage should be avoided for fear of resistance.
Keyword :
ascites, cirrhosis, monomicrobial, neutrocytic, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, culture negative neutrocytic ascites,