Clinical, Laboratory and Bacterial Profile of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Vietnamese Patients with Liver Cirrhosis.

Aim: To determine several clinical and laboratory features as well as the bacterial profile of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in 58 Vietnamese patients admitted to a single center due to liver cirrhosis.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed bacteriological, clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with SBP admitted to the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Center from July 2019 to July 2020.

Results: Out of a total 58 SBP patients, 41 (70.9%) had culture-negative neutrocytic ascites. The majority of patients experienced abdominal pain (93,1%) and large ascites (65,5%). Gram-negative bacteria formed the main pathogens (14/17). Escherichia coli (9/17) was the predominant cause followed by Burkholderia cepacia (2/17). Antibiotic sensitivity rate of E. coli for third generation cephalosporin was low but high for aminoglycoside and carbapenem antibiotics. The resistance of E. coli was significant against fluoroquinolones (100%). All 3 cases of gram-positive bacteria were sensitive to vancomycin.

Conclusion: Our study reported the bacteriological and clinical characteristics of patients with SBP and compared these findings between two groups: positive ascitic fluid culture and negative fluid culture. Ascitic fluid culture can guide for the right antibiotic choice since resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics is common in SBP patients.