Randomized controlled clinical trials of a quick screening model for symptomatic bacterascites for guided antibiotic therapy

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the clinical significance of a quick screening model for symptomatic bacterascites for guided antibiotic therapy. Methods: Data were collected prospectively from 24 cases of cirrhotic ascites who were newly admitted to Nanchang Ninth Hospital between September 2016 and February 2017. No clear indication for antibiotic treatment was used when the number of polymorphonuclear cells in ascites was <250 cells/mm3. A quick screening model for symptomatic bacterascites was determined by positivity and was randomly divided into the experimental (12 cases) and the control group (12 cases). The experimental group was given antibiotic treatment during the whole process, while the control group did not receive antibiotic treatment. The 10th day of treatment was the end point of the study. The treatment responses of the two groups were compared. The treatment response results were divided into three categories: complete response, partial response, and no response. The sum of complete and partial response rates was used to determine the response rate. The Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher's exact test were used to compare the treatment responses between groups. Results: The baseline conditions of gender, age, screening score, and disease severity were consistent between the two groups (P>0.05). On the 10th day of treatment, the number of complete responses between the experimental group and the control group was 1 to 0, the number of partial responses was 7 to 2, and the number of non-responses was 4 to 10, Z=-2.467, P=0.014. The response rate was significantly better in the experimental group than in the control group [66.7% (8/12) vs. 16.7% (2/12), P=0.036]. Conclusion: Guided antibiotic therapy is somehow important for the quick screening model for symptomatic bacterascites, and patients with cirrhotic ascites who test positive in this model can benefit from antibiotic therapy.