Clinical question: What are the risk factors for development of a recurrent infection in cirrhotic patients hospitalized with an initial infection?
Background: Infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with cirrhosis. Prior retrospective data suggest that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) increase the risk of infections in cirrhotic patients, while beta blockers do not. This study sought to prospectively evaluate risk factors for recurrent infections in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis.
Study design: Prospective, multicenter study.
Setting: Twelve North American hospitalists enrolled in the North American Consortium for the Study of End-Stage Liver Disease.
Synopsis: Researchers enrolled 188 hospitalized cirrhotic patients who had or developed an infection during their hospitalization. Patients were followed for six months to determine risk of development of subsequent infection and to identify independent risk factors associated with recurrent infections.
Forty-five percent of patients developed a subsequent infection, 74% of which occurred in a different location than the primary infection. This risk was independent of liver disease severity.
Age (OR 1.06; CI 1.02-1.11), PPI use (OR 2.72; CI 1.30-5.71), and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) prophylaxis (OR 3.66; CI 1.60-8.37) were found to be independent predictors of recurrent infections. Beta blocker use did not differ between those who developed an infection and those who did not. An initial infection of SBP (compared to other infection sites) was protective (OR 0.37; CI 0.15-0.91) against subsequent infection.
Notably, study size was small, and 18% of patients were lost to follow-up. Further studies are needed to determine effective strategies to prevent recurrent infections in cirrhotics.
Bottom line: Cirrhotic patients hospitalized with an infection are at high risk of recurrent infections, and the long-term use of SBP prophylaxis and PPIs independently increase this risk.
Citation: O’Leary JG, Reddy KR, Wong F, et al. Long-term use of antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors predict development of infections in patients with cirrhosis. Clinical Gastro Hepatol. 2015;13(4):753-759.