Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
 72,216 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis rarely complicates high-protein (greater than 2.5 g/dl) ascites. The relatively high endogenous antimicrobial (opsonic) activity of the ascitic fluid in this setting appears to protect the patient from infection. We report two patients with high-protein, noncirrhotic ascites complicated by spontaneous peritonitis due to Salmonella species. One patient had ascites due to heart failure, whereas the other patient's ascites was due to peritoneal carcinomatosis. The ascitic fluid total protein concentrations were 3.1 and 3.3 g/dl, respectively, and the opsonic activity of the ascitic fluid specimens were 2.03 and 2.00 log kill, respectively, indicating a high degree of bacterial killing. We hypothesize that the virulence of the Salmonella species was able to overcome the high opsonic activity in the ascitic fluid, resulting in infection in these two patients. Fever, abdominal pain, or encephalopathy in a patient with high-protein ascites may suggest the presence of an unusual organism causing spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.
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PMID:Spontaneous Salmonella infection of high-protein noncirrhotic ascites. 220 53

Liver cirrhosis is the end-stage of long-standing chronic liver diseases. The occurrence of complications from liver cirrhosis increases the mortality risk, but the prognosis can be improved by optimal management in the intensive care unit (ICU). Defined diagnostic algorithms allow the etiology and presence of typical complications upon presentation to the ICU to be identified. Acute variceal bleeding requires endoscopic intervention, vasoactive drugs, antibiotics, supportive intensive care measures and, where necessary, urgent transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) procedure. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis needs to be diagnosed and immediately treated in patients with ascites. Hepatorenal syndrome should be treated by albumin and terlipressin. In case of respiratory failure, differential diagnosis should not only consider pneumonia, pulmonary embolism and cardiac failure, but also hepatic hydrothorax, portopulmonary hypertension and hepatopulmonary syndrome. The feasibility of liver transplantation should be always discussed in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. Artificial liver support devices may only serve as a bridging procedure until transplant.
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PMID:[Management of decompensated liver cirrhosis in the intensive care unit]. 2403 Aug 43

The most common cause of ascites is liver cirrhosis. Additional causes such as heart failure, cancer, and pancreatitis among others can also precipitate this abnormality. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is an infection of ascitic fluid that happens without any evidence of an intra-abdominal surgically-treatable cause. Ascites of cardiac origin can also be complicated by SBP. Here we present a case of a 62-year-old male with extensive cardiac history who presented to our service with ongoing dyspnea and orthopnea. He also had significant abdominal distention and pitting edema. The patient was found to have constrictive pericarditis and was admitted for pericardiectomy. Ascitic fluid was consistent with a transudative process. Lab and imaging did not show evidence of liver or kidney disease. Ascitic fluid was indicative of ascites of cardiac origin. Postoperatively patient developed intermittent fevers initially thought to be due to pericarditis but later found to be due to SBP complicating his recurrent ascites. Such a temporal association of SBP that complicates ascites after pericardiectomy has not been discussed frequently in literature.
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PMID:Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Cardiogenic Ascites. 3320 51