Gastric pH and microflora of normal and diarrhoeic infants.
The microflora and pH of gastric contents were determined in breast-fed and in bottle-fed normal infants, in well nourished infants with acute diarrhoea and in infants with chronic diarrhoea and protein-calorie malnutrition. The last group of infants was reevaluated after recovery from diarrhoea and protein-calorie malnutrition. A bactericidal pH effect below 2-5 was observed. Bottle-fed controls had low pH values and low bacterial concentrations, whereas infants with chronic diarrhoea and protein-calorie malnutrition had high pH values and bacterial overgrowth, essentially of Gram-negative bacilli. After recovery, the only remaining alteration was the frequent isolation of yeast-like fungi in low concentrations. Infants with acute diarrhoea, except for the isolation more frequently of yeast-like fungi, presented no alterations; this seems to indicate that pH alterations and Gram-negative bacilli overgrowth occurred during the evolution of the disease to a chronic state. Breast-fed normal infants had hydrogen-ion concentrations similar to those of the chronic diarrhoea group, but without Gram-negative bacilli overgrowth, suggesting that other factors, besides pH, regulate bacterial growth in the gastric contents of these groups of infants.
D000208:Acute Disease; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003968:Diarrhea, Infantile / Q000382:microbiology*; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005750:Gastric Juice / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007223:Infant; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000382:microbiology; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013270:Stomach / Q000382:microbiology*; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification