Tawheed A, Yalniz M, Ozercan M, Bahcecioglu IH. Exploring the next frontier in diagnosing spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. World J Hepatol 2025; 17(3): 102044 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i3.102044]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ahmed Tawheed, MD, MSc, PhD, Consultant Physician-Scientist, Lecturer, Department of Endemic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Helwan University, Ain Helwan, Cairo 11795, Egypt. ahmed.tawhid@med.helwan.edu.eg
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Hepatol. Mar 27, 2025; 17(3): 102044 Published online Mar 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i3.102044
Exploring the next frontier in diagnosing spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
Ahmed Tawheed, Mehmet Yalniz, Mubin Ozercan, Ibrahim Halil Bahcecioglu
Ahmed Tawheed, Department of Endemic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Helwan University, Cairo 11795, Egypt
Mehmet Yalniz, Mubin Ozercan, Ibrahim Halil Bahcecioglu, Department of Gastroenterology, Firat University, Elazig 23119, Türkiye
Author contributions: Tawheed A designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript; Tawheed A and Ozercan M wrote the manuscript; Yalniz M revised the manuscript, and Bahcecioglu IH provided critical technical points to the manuscript. All authors have contributed to this article and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ahmed Tawheed, MD, MSc, PhD, Consultant Physician-Scientist, Lecturer, Department of Endemic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Helwan University, Ain Helwan, Cairo 11795, Egypt. ahmed.tawhid@med.helwan.edu.eg
Received: October 8, 2024 Revised: February 17, 2025 Accepted: February 25, 2025 Published online: March 27, 2025 Processing time: 170 Days and 2.8 Hours
Abstract
Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a common complication of liver failure. It is an acute bacterial infection of the ascitic fluid in patients with liver cirrhosis. SBP presents a significant challenge for hepatologists owing to its associated complications. While diagnostic paracentesis with polymorphonuclear count is highly accurate, it can be troublesome for some patients as it is an invasive procedure with associated risks. Several studies have proposed new diagnostic methods to improve current practices, many of which remain invasive. Although some serum tests show promise in the diagnosis of SBP, the results are still preliminary. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning have introduced predictive models and scoring systems for diagnosis. However, these models still lack sufficient sensitivity, specificity, and the ability to effectively assess treatment response.
Core Tip: In this editorial, we respond to the retrospective cohort study recently published in the World Journal of Hepatology. The authors highlighted the sensitivity of the diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) using the automated cell count method. Here, we discuss the advances in SBP diagnosis and the future directions in this field.
