Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of serum monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor -α (TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels in patients with hepatitis B-induced liver cirrhosis (LC) and with complicated spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). Methods 63 patients with hepatitis B-induced LC and SBP, and 82 patients with hepatitis B-induced LC were enrolled in our hospital between January 2018 and January 2022, and the patients with SBP were treated with antibiotics for two weeks. Serum MCP-1, TNF-α and IL-10 levels were detected by ELISA. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis was applied to reveal the risk factors for the relapse of SBP, and the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was conducted to predict the efficacy of parameters for relapse of SBP. Results At admission, serum MCP-1, TNF-α and IL-10 levels in patients with SBP were (354.7±73.9)pg/mL,(13.4±3.1)pg/mL and (11.4±1.7)pg/mL, all significantly higher than [(193.8±42.3)pg/mL, (8.8±2.4)pg/mL and (8.1±1.2)pg/mL, respectively, P<0.05] in patients with LC, and at the convalescent stage, serum cytokine levels in patients with SBP were still much higher than in patients with LC (P<0.05); during two-year follow-up period, the SBP relapsed in 31 cases (49.2%), and the incidence of esophageal variceal bleeding in relapsed patients was41.9%, much higher than 6.3% in patients without relapsed SBP (P<0.05); serum MCP-1, TNF-α and IL-10 levels in relapsed SBP patients were significantly higher than in those without relapsed SBP (P<0.05); the multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that serum MCP-1, TNF-α, IL-10 and albumin levels were all the independent risk factors for SBP relapse (P<0.05); the ROC analysis demonstrated that serum MCP-1, TNF-α, IL-10 and albumin levels at the convalescent stage could predict the relapse of SBP, with the AUCs of 0.91, 0.91, 0.92 and 0.76, respectively, suggesting serum cytokine levels superior to albumin (P<0.05). Conclusion The surveillance of serum MCP-1, TNF-α and IL-10 levels might predict the relapse of SBP, which is worthy of further clinical investigation.

Key words: Liver cirrhosis, Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, Tumor necrosis factor-α, Interleukin-10, Relapse