An acute bleeding from oesophageal varices as a result of portál hypertension is a frequent and at the samé time serious complication of cirrhosis of the liver. One of factors influencing this bleeding can be a bacterial infection. Endotoxines can increase portál pressure and so participate in development of bleeding and simultaneously deteriorate a patienťs prognosis. An antibiotic treat-ment is a part of a treatment algorithm, however what antibiotics to administer and in what man-ner is unclear. A group of 46 patients who were admitted to a hospital for an acute bleeding from varices has been compared in the study to 48 cirrhosis patients hospitalised for other reasons. An infection incidence was high in both groups (63.0 % vs. 54.2 %), bleeding patients had more often positive hemoculture (17.3 % vs. 8.6 %), and statistically significantly more often positive findings in throat swab culture (36.9 % vs. 17.3 %, p = 0.04) which is an evidence of an increased pathology colonisation of these patients. Bleeding patients were randomised for peroral norfloxacin admi-nistration (n = 25) or an intravenous administration of a combination of ampicilin and sulbactam (n = 21). There was no difference in survival of both groups. Due to a high number of bacterial in-fections antibiotics administration has been indicated in these patients. Intravenous administration is probably of the samé effect as peroral administration.

        Key words: Cirrhosis of the liver - Portal hypertension - Bleeding oesophageal varices - Bacterial infection - Antibiotic treatment