Sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis in two patients with liver cirrhosis

Sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis (SEP) has been reported in a wide variety of patients, including those who have undergone peritoneal dialysis (PD), young adolescent girls, cirrhotic patients after peritoneal-venous shunting (PVS), and patients treated with Beta-blockers. Nevertheless, the etiology of SEP remains obscure. In this article, we report on two patients with severe liver cirrhosis who were diagnosed as having SEP. The association of SEP with liver cirrhosis in patients who have not undergone PVS has previously been reported only rarely. Neither of our two patients had received PD or PVS, and neither had been treated with Beta-blockers, but both had suffered persistent intraabdominal infection. In one patient, we performed therapy combining total enterolysis with the oral administration of prednisolone, at 5 mg/day. The patient recovered and is currently free of symptoms at approximately 15 months after surgery. We believe that SEP may produce complications in cirrhotic patients with persistent intraabdominal infection, and that a combination therapy of surgical and immunosuppressive treatment may be effective for alleviating the small-intestinal obstruction due to SEP.