Peritonitis
Peritonitis is inflammation of the peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. The lining of the stomach (the peritoneum) covers internal organs like the kidneys, liver and bowel. If left untreated, peritonitis can be life-threatening.
| Peritonitis | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Surgical abdomen, acute abdomen |
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| Peritonitis from tuberculosis | |
| Pronunciation | |
| Medical specialty | Emergency medicine, general surgery |
| Symptoms | Severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever |
| Complications | Sepsis (sepsis is likely if not quickly treated), shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome |
| Usual onset | Sudden |
| Types | Primary, secondary, tertiary, generalized, localized |
| Causes | Perforation of the intestinal tract, pancreatitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, cirrhosis, ruptured appendix |
| Risk factors | Ascites, peritoneal dialysis |
| Diagnostic method | Examination, blood tests, medical imaging |
| Treatment | Antibiotics, intravenous fluids, pain medication, surgery |
| Frequency | Relatively common |
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms may include:
- severe pain in the stomach
- fever, or feeling hot and shivering
- tachycardia (fast heart rate)
- trouble urinating or urinating less than usual
- weight loss.
There may also be swelling in the abdomen, feeling or being sick, and a loss of appetite.
If peritonitis happens while kidney dialysis treatment is being used, the fluid in the collection bag might look cloudier than usual or contain white flecks. These are white blood cells, and if blood samples were taken and tested then the test might show an increased white blood cell count (WBC) of >100 million cells/L, with half of the cells in the sample being neutrophils.
Causes
Peritonitis causes include:
- perforation of the intestinal tract
- pancreatitis
- pelvic inflammatory disease
- burst stomach ulcer
- cirrhosis
- ruptured appendix.
- digestive problems (example Crohn's disease or diverticulitis)
- surgery
If the lining becomes infected in someone with peritonitis, the internal organs it covers can also be damaged.
Treatment
After a peritonitis diagnosis, treatment in hospital is needed to cure the infection.Treatment usually involves being given antibiotics into a vein (intravenously).
If regular kidney dialysis is ongoing, a doctor might discuss a different way of doing it until the peritonitis has been treated.
Related pages
References
- 1 2 Pmhdev. "Peritonitis - National Library of Medicine". PubMed Health. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 Ferri, Fred F. (2017). Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2018 E-Book: 5 Books in 1. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 979–980. ISBN 9780323529570. Archived from the original on 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Peritonitis". NHS. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
- 1 2 3 "Acute Abdominal Pain". Merck Manuals Professional Edition. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
- 1 2 "Acute Abdominal Pain". Merck Manuals Consumer Version. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
- ↑ "Encyclopaedia : Peritonitis". NHS Direct Wales. 25 April 2015. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
- ↑ Fieren, Marien W. J. A. (December 2013). "Cloudy peritoneal dialysate: in search of a clear cause?". Journal of the American Society of Nephrology: JASN. 24 (12): 1929–1931. doi:10.1681/ASN.2013080911. ISSN 1533-3450. PMC 3839560. PMID 24179168.
