The following is a summary of “Norfloxacin versus alternative antibiotics for prophylaxis of spontaneous bacteria peritonitis in cirrhosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the August 2023 issue of Infectious Disease by Song et al.
Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a life-threatening complication of cirrhosis. Norfloxacin prevents SBP, but its efficacy is declining due to bacterial resistance. Researchers performed a retrospective study to contrast norfloxacin’s impact with alternative antibiotics for preventing SBP in cirrhotic patients.
They conducted a thorough search in Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane Library Databases, where two reviewers autonomously pinpointed pertinent randomized control trials (RCTs) that assessed the effectiveness of norfloxacin and alternative antibiotics in preventing SBP.
The results indicated findings from eight studies involving 1,043 cirrhotic patients. Both norfloxacin and other antibiotics showed similar effects in SBP prophylaxis, survival benefit, overall infection prevention, and safety. Subgroup analyses demonstrated that while rifaximin prophylaxis decreased SBP recurrence with fewer adverse events, it did not enhance overall survival compared to norfloxacin.
They concluded that rifaximin was a reasonable alternative to norfloxacin for SBP prophylaxis because it had a better protective effect and safety profile.
Source: bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-023-08557-6
