title: Listeria monocytogenes-induced monomicrobial non-neutrocytic bacterascites.
abstract: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a common complication in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. The organisms most commonly involved in this infection are gram-negative bacteria like Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and gram-positive bacteria like Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. Listeria monocytogenes is an uncommon gram-positive bacillus implicated in infections in neonates, pregnant females, the elderly, and immunocompromised patients. Listeria monocytogene-induced SBP is rare, with less than 40 cases reported in the medical literature. Monobacterial non-neutrocytic bacterascites (MNB) is a variant of SBP, where the ascitic fluid culture is positive but the ascitic neutrophil count is less than 250/mm3. Forty percent of these patients will subsequently have SBP. Only 2 cases of MNB from L monocytogenes have previously been reported. We report a case of MNB in a patient with cirrhosis whose ascitic neutrophil count was 164/mm', but Gram stain and microbiologic culture showed the growth of L monocytogenes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555-0570, USA.
authors.forename: Praveen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jammula
authors.forename: Rajiv
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gupta
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008088:Listeriosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010538:Peritonitis / Q000382:microbiology*