Peritonitis; spontaneous

Alternative names:

spontaneous peritonitis

Symptoms:

• fluid in the abdomen
• abdominal pain
• point tenderness
• abdominal distention
• inability to pass feces or gas
• fever
• thirst
• low urine output

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

• nausea & vomiting
• joint pain
• chills

Signs and tests:

Tests that show infection:

• culture of peritoneal fluid
• chemical examination of peritoneal fluid
• peritoneal fluid analysis
• cytologic examination (cell studies) of peritoneal fluid
• blood culture

Other tests that may be performed:

• abdominal X-ray to rule out other causes of abdominal pain
• laparotomy exploratory
• WBC (nuclear) scan