Existing trials, of poor quality, indicate that antibiotic prophylaxis reduces spontaneous bacterial peritonitis among cirrhotic patients with ascites and no gastrointestinal bleeding

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (infection and inflammation of the membrane lining the abdominal cavity) is a frequent complication among cirrhotic patients (patients with end-stage liver disease marked by irreversible scarring of liver tissue) and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Selective intestinal decontamination, employing antibiotics, is a proposed prophylactic (preventive) measure. This systematic review of randomised clinical trials assesses whether antibiotic prophylaxis prevents spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and mortality among cirrhotic patients with ascites (excess fluid in the abdominal cavity) and no gastrointestinal bleeding. Nine trials are included in the review. The pooled rates of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and mortality indicate that antibiotic prophylaxis reduces both. There are very few reports of adverse events. Reviewing these trials, we found poor methodology, evidence suggesting publication bias, and limited follow-up periods. Thus, the recommendation to prescribe prophylactic antibiotics to cirrhotic patients without gastrointestinal bleeding is hampered by quality of the trials that generated the data. Due to potential hazards, both to society as a whole and the patients, as individuals, before antibiotic prophylaxis can be confidently recommended, trials of better design, well reported, and of longer follow-up are required.