Breath-hydrogen test for small-intestinal bacterial colonisation.
Breath-hydrogen production after oral glucose administration was examined in patients suspected of having small-intestinal colonisation and compared with the 14C-glycine-cholate breath test (14C-G.C.) and with bacteriological examination of the small intestine. Of 17 patients, 12 had bacteriological evidence of small-intestinal colonisation. Each breath test showed 8 of the 12 patients to be colonised, but only 5 patients gave positive results with both tests. Nevertheless, using both tests only 1 patients out of 12 with small-intestinal colonisation would have been missed. There were no false-positive results in the 5 bacteriologically normal patients when the breath-hydrogen test was used. It is concluded that simultaneous use of these two relatively simple breath tests may improve the indirect diagnosis of small-intestinal colonisation.
D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods*; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D003903:Deuterium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000378:metabolism; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005947:Glucose; D006000:Glycocholic Acid; D006801:Humans; D007583:Jejunum / Q000382:microbiology*
D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D003903:Deuterium; D006000:Glycocholic Acid; D005947:Glucose