Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis due to Brucella abortus in a Cirrhotic Patient in Jeju Island / 감염과화학요법

ABSTRACT

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is the common infectious disease in liver cirrhosis patients with a fever. Brucellosis is a rare cause of bacterial peritonitis. A case indigenous to a citizen of Jeju, he ate a raw veal of cow four times in last 2 months prior to admission. The gram-negative bacilli were isolated from blood and peritoneal fluid cultures. He was confirmed brucellosis by serologic work- ups. This isolate was confirmed as Brucella abortus by using PCR amplification of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and omp2. This is the first case of bruellosis that was diagnosed spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in liver cirrhosis patient among native korean citizens. Successful treatment was obtained by using a regimen of doxycycline and gentamicin. Brucella should be suspected as a cause of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in cirrhotic patients with no response to standard spontaneous bacterial peritonitis treatments.