001; log rank test) (see Fig. 2). Hepatorenal syndrome was the complication associated with the higher mortality risk, a 29 times higher risk of death (HR = 29.92; p < 0.001; Cox regression); MK0683 nmr the difference between survival curves was statistically significant (p < 0.001; log rank test) (see Fig. 3). Of the 30 (71.4%) patients discharged from the hospital, 14 (46.67%) were on antibiotic prophylaxis, with 3 (21.42%) of them being later re-admitted with the same diagnosis; of the 16 (31.25%) patients discharged

without prophylaxis, 5 were re-admitted. However, no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups (p = 0.36) (see Table 6 and Fig. 4). SBP is a common complication in patients with cirrhosis-related ascites. With an insidious and subtle installation, it’s diagnosis, based on ascitic fluid cytochemical and bacteriological analysis, requires a high suspicion index.13 The aim of this study was to evaluate, in patients admitted with

SBP diagnosis, the risk factors accepted in the literature as a cause for the disease and which of them influenced it’s prognosis. NVP-BEZ235 chemical structure In our series, only three of the patients had previous SBP diagnosis, with one of them being on a prophylaxis antibiotic regimen. For this reason, it was not possible to assess the effect of prophylaxis in survival. Most patients were in an advanced phase of the disease (Child-Pugh C). Abdominal pain was the most frequent symptom at admission, although in other studies published fever was the most common symptom reported.12 However, abdominal pain

can be the result of Neratinib mouse the distension caused by the ascitic fluid. Total serum bilirubin concentration, plasma creatinine and plasma sodium levels did not alter the risk of death in a statistically significant way. In this study we retrospectivelly examined the presence of complications in association with bilirubin, creatinine and sodium levels. Further studies must include the assessment of the effect of these variables in the risk of developing complications. The presence of hepatorenal syndrome and septic shock influenced the outcome, with those patients with hepatorenal syndrome having a twenty-nine times higher risk of death and those with septic shock having a nine times higher risk. Renal failure was also suggestively associated with death. We might say that the presence of hepatorenal syndrome and septic shock are potential predictors of mortality risk. Ceftriaxone, suggested as the first line empiric antibiotic treatment, failed in more than 30% of SBP episodes. This is further supported by the findings of Angeloni et al.9 One may infer that it might be related with either the appearance of antibiotic resistances or with changes in etiologic agents. These results should promote further investigation aimed at identifying different treatment approaches.