Project description:We report the first case of fatal spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and fulminant hepatitis caused by Nocardia cyriacigeorgica in a patient with hepatitis C-related liver cirrhosis.
Project description:Although Bordetella hinzii coccobacilli is most commonly identified in respiratory tracts of birds and rodents, this organism has occasionally been isolated in human infections. We describe a case of B. hinzii spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in Missouri, USA. Whole-genome sequencing of blood and peritoneal fluid isolates confirmed B. hinzii infection.
Project description:Background and aimsSpontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a severe complication of decompensated cirrhosis. The prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in patients with cirrhosis is increasing. Identification of patients at risk for SBP due to MDROs (ie, SBP with the evidence of MDROs or Stenotrophomonas maltophilia in ascitic culture, MDRO-SBP) is crucial to the early adaptation of antibiotic treatment in such patients. We therefore investigated whether MDROs found in ascitic cultures can also be found in specimens determined by noninvasive screening procedures.Patients and methodsThis retrospective study was conducted at the liver center of the University Hospital Frankfurt, Germany. Between 2011 and 2016, patients with cirrhosis were included upon diagnosis of SBP and sample collection of aerobic/anaerobic ascitic cultures. Furthermore, the performance of at least one complete MDRO screening was mandatory for study inclusion.ResultsOf 133 patients diagnosed with SBP, 75 (56.4%) had culture-positive SBP and 22 (16.5%) had MDRO-SBP. Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli (10/22; 45.5%) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (7/22; 36.4%) resembled the major causatives of MDRO-SBP. Rectal swabs identified MDROs in 17 of 22 patients (77.3%) who developed MDRO-SBP with a time-dependent sensitivity of 77% and 87% after 30 and 90 days upon testing, while negative predictive value was 83% and 76%, respectively. The majority of patients were included from intensive care unit or intermediate care unit.ConclusionMDRO screening may serve as a noninvasive diagnostic tool to identify patients at risk for MDRO-SBP. Patients with decompensated cirrhosis should be screened for MDROs from the first day of inpatient treatment onward.
Project description:Ascitic fluid infection is a serious complication of liver cirrhosis. The distinction between the more common spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) and the less common secondary peritonitis in patients with liver cirrhosis is crucial due to the varying treatment approaches. This retrospective multicentre study was conducted in three German hospitals and analysed 532 SBP episodes and 37 secondary peritonitis episodes. Overall, >30 clinical, microbiological, and laboratory parameters were evaluated to identify key differentiation criteria. Microbiological characteristics in ascites followed by severity of illness and clinicopathological parameters in ascites were the most important predictors identified by a random forest model to distinguish between SBP and secondary peritonitis. To establish a point-score model, a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression model selected the ten most promising discriminatory features. By aiming at a sensitivity of 95% either to rule out or rule in SBP episodes, two cut-off scores were defined, dividing patients with infected ascites into a low-risk (score ≥ 45) and high-risk group (score < 25) for secondary peritonitis. Overall, the discrimination of secondary peritonitis from SBP remains challenging. Our univariable analyses, random forest model, and LASSO point score may help clinicians with the crucial differentiation between SBP and secondary peritonitis.
Project description:Background & aimsSpontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis (SBP) is an infection in patients with cirrhosis and carries significant mortality. The management of SBP is evolving with the rise of multidrug resistant organisms. Our aim was to perform a retrospective analysis to determine if identification of bacteria in culture could aid in prognosis and provide information regarding optimal treatment.MethodsWe analyzed our 10-year experience of SBP in a single academic center (Northwestern Memorial Hospital). We obtained information regarding SBP prophylaxis, culture data and resistance patterns of bacteria, choice/duration of inpatient antibiotics, and key laboratory measurements and determined outcomes including mortality, hospital duration, and ICU stay.ResultsPatients with SBP had a 17.8% mortality and had culture positive SBP 34.4% of the time. Antimicrobial resistance was seen in 21.3% of cases and trended towards worsening mortality, with worsened mortality associated with first line use of piperacillin-tazobactam (p = 0.0001). Patients on SBP prophylaxis who developed SBP had improved mortality (p<0.0001) unless there was a positive culture, in which case patients had worsened mortality (p = 0.019). Patient with a higher PMN counts after repeat paracentesis had higher mortality (p = 0.02).ConclusionsOur results show that SBP continues to be a morbid and deadly condition and identification of an organism is key in treatment. The standard initial antibiotic for SBP may need to be modified to reflect emerging resistant pathogens and gram-positive organisms. Further, antibiotic prophylaxis should be utilized only in select cases to prevent development of resistance.
Project description:Human infection caused by Shewanella algae is rare, which usually occurred after direct contact with seawater or ingestion of raw seafood in the immunocompromised host. There have been anecdotal reports about Shewanella infections in human, but their pathogenic role and microbiologic data are limited. Here, we report a fatal case of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis with bacteremia due to S. algae in a 57-year-old male with liver cirrhosis who had no history of exposure to seawater or raw seafood. Polymicrobial infection with Streptococcus mitis and Escherichia coli was combined and the patient died in spite of early appropriate antimicrobial therapy and early goal-directed therapy for sepsis.
Project description:Objective Bacterial DNA (bactDNA) detection can be used to quickly identify pathogenic bacteria and has been studied on ascitic fluid. We aimed to retrospectively analyze the diagnostic value and applicational prospect of the bactDNA load in spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). Method We extracted viable bactDNA from ascitic samples of 250 patients with decompensated cirrhosis collected from October 2019 to April 2021 and detected the bactDNA by droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR). We used ascitic samples of a baseline cohort of 191 patients to establish diagnostic thresholds for SBP and analyze the patients’ diagnostic performance based on ascites polymorphonuclear (PMN) and clinical manifestation. We performed bactDNA quantification analysis on 13 patients with a PMN less than 250 cells/mm3 but with clinical symptoms. The dynamic changes of the bactDNA load from eight patients (before, during, and after SBP) were analyzed. Results After the removal of free DNA, the bactDNA detected by ddPCR was generally decreased (1.75 vs. 1.5 log copies/µl, P < 0.001). Compared with the traditional culture and PMN count in the SBP diagnosis, the bactDNA showed that the ddPCR sensitivity was 80.5%, specificity was 95.3%, positive predictive value was 82.5%, and negative predictive value was 94.7%, based on clinical composite criteria. In patients with a PMN less than 250 cells/mm3, the bactDNA load of 13 patients with symptoms was significantly higher than those without symptoms (2.7 vs. 1.7 log copies/µl, P < 0.001). The bactDNA in eight patients had SBP that decreased by 1.6 log copies/µl after 48 h of antibiotic treatment and by 1.0 log copies/µl after 3 days of continued treatment. Conclusion BactDNA detection can be used to further enhance the diagnostic efficiency of SBP. Therefore, the application of ddPCR assay not only can be used to discriminate and quantify bacteria but also can be used in the clinical assessment for antibiotics treatment.
Project description:Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a frequent, life-threatening bacterial infection in patients with liver cirrhosis and ascites. Portal hypertension leads to increased bacterial translocation from the intestine. Failure to eliminate invading pathogens due to immune defects associated with advanced liver disease on the background of genetic predisposition may result in SBP. The efficacy of antibiotic treatment and prophylaxis has declined due to the spread of multi-resistant bacteria. Patients with nosocomial SBP and with prior antibiotic treatment are at a particularly high risk for infection with resistant bacteria. Therefore, it is important to adapt empirical treatment to these risk factors and to the local resistance profile. Rifaximin, an oral, non-absorbable antibiotic, has been proposed to prevent SBP, but may be useful only in a subset of patients. Since novel antibiotic classes are lacking, we have to develop prophylactic strategies which do not induce bacterial resistance. Farnesoid X receptor agonists may be a candidate, but so far, clinical studies are not available. New diagnostic tests which can be carried out quickly at the patient's site and provide additional prognostic information would be helpful. Furthermore, we need tools to predict antibiotic resistance in order to tailor first-line antibiotic treatment of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis to the individual patient and to reduce mortality.
Project description:Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a life-threatening complication in patients with cirrhosis. We aimed to develop an explainable machine learning model to achieve the early prediction and outcome interpretation of SBP. We used CatBoost algorithm to construct MODEL-1 with 46 variables. After dimensionality reduction, we constructed MODEL-2. We calculated and compared the sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) of MODEL-1 and MODEL-2. Finally, we used the SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) method to provide insights into the model's outcome or prediction. MODEL-2 (AUROC: 0.822; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.783-0.856), liked MODEL-1 (AUROC: 0.822; 95% CI 0.784-0.856), could well predict the risk of SBP in cirrhotic ascites patients. The 6 most influential predictive variables were total protein, C-reactive protein, prothrombin activity, cholinesterase, lymphocyte ratio and apolipoprotein A1. For binary classifier, the sensitivity and NPV of MODEL-1 were 0.894 and 0.885, respectively, while for MODEL-2 they were 0.927 and 0.904, respectively. We applied CatBoost algorithm to establish a practical and explainable prediction model for risk of SBP in cirrhotic patients with ascites. We also identified 6 important variables closely related to the occurrence of SBP.
Project description:Aim of the studyWe aimed to investigate the possible association between serum copeptin and complications of liver cirrhosis, including its potential role as a stress biomarker in spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP).Material and methodsThis cross-sectional study included 89 cirrhotic ascitic patients (37 with SBP and 52 without SBP) admitted to Sohag University Hospitals, Egypt, between June 2021 and February 2022. Serum copeptin was measured in all patients, and its association with SBP and other complications of liver cirrhosis was investigated.ResultsSerum copeptin was significantly elevated in patients with SBP compared to those without SBP (p = 0.032) and significantly correlated with ascitic fluid study parameters, systemic inflammatory markers, and liver, renal, and circulatory functions. Serum copeptin and C-reactive protein (CRP) were independent risk factors for the presence of SBP. Serum copeptin detects SBP at a cut-off value of 9 pmol/l, with sensitivity and specificity of 73% and 64%, respectively. Serum copeptin was significantly associated with hepatic encephalopathy, gastrointestinal bleeding, hepatorenal syndrome, and larger amounts of ascites.ConclusionsSerum copeptin is an independent risk factor for the presence of SBP and significantly increased in patients presented with major complications of liver cirrhosis, demonstrating its ability to reflect circulatory dysfunction and systemic inflammation.