The core of the proposal is a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, controlled study which will compare the efficacy of dextran 70 versus human albumin in the treatment of cirrhotic patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). Because dextran 70, which is FDA approved for plasma volume expansion, is significantly less expensive than human albumin, this study is designed and powered to determine if dextran 70 is equivalent in clinical efficacy when compared to albumin.

Specific aims for this project are to:

1. Assess the effect of plasma volume expansion with dextran 70 on disease-specific mortality at 30 days in cirrhotic patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis compared to plasma volume expansion with human albumin.
2. Assess the effect of dextran 70 compared to human albumin on the prevention of renal dysfunction within 30-days of diagnosis of SBP, as measured by the calculated creatinine clearance, plasma renin activity, serum aldosterone levels, levels of brain natriuretic peptide, and further development of the hepatorenal syndrome in cirrhotic patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.
3. Compare the survival to liver transplantation, treatment costs, hospitalization costs, resource utilization, and quality of life of patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis treated with dextran 70 and human albumin in the 30 days following diagnosis.
4. Establish a comprehensive tissue bank of blood, ascites, and urine in patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis for future testing and translational research.
5. Establish a clinical electronic database with web-based data entry and remote analysis capabilities linking tissue bank samples and patient outcomes related to the above clinical trials.