Peritonitis - spontaneous

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Peritoneal sample

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Peritonitis - spontaneous

Definition:

Peritonitis is the inflammation of the peritoneum, which is the membrane that lines the abdominal wall and covers the abdominal organs. Spontaneous peritonitis is an infection that occurs as a complication of ascites (a collection of fluid in the peritoneal cavity), which is usually related to liver or kidney failure.

Alternative Names:

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP)

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Most cases of bacterial peritonitis occur:

When fluid accumulates in the peritoneal cavity (ascites) because of chronic liver disease.
In renal (kidney) failure patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. In these patients, the cause of spontaneous peritonitis is infection that spreads to the peritoneal fluid, usually from a contaminated peritoneal dialysis catheter.

Risk factors for liver disease include alcoholic cirrhosis and other diseases that lead to cirrhosis, such as viral hepatitis (Hepatitis B or C).

Review Date: 12/22/2004
Reviewed By: Brendan T. Campbell, MD, MPH, Department of Surgery, Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, AR. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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