title: Fecal short-chain fatty acids predict digestive disorders in premature infants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Excretion of fecal short-chain volatile fatty acids (SCFAs) may indicate changes in colonic or colonocyte metabolism. The aim of this study was to detect the existence of an average fecal SCFA profile and to define which changes were associated with clinical events that occurred during the survey period.
  
  
  METHODS
  SCFA profiles of 185 stool samples collected from 46 fed preterm neonates (mean birth weight, 1920 g; mean gestational age, 32.8 weeks) were evaluated and their association with digestive disorders or therapy was explored.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total SCFA concentration increased from 0 to 80 micromol/g feces wet weight over the first 20 days of life. A basic SCFA profile revealed the existence of a highly sensitive period between the second and the third week of life. In the absence of any digestive problem (n = 15), the butyric acid (C4) ratio increased from 7% to 24%. Phototherapy (n = 13) enhanced the SCFA concentration but decreased the ratios of C4 and minor acids. Digestive disorders reported included abdominal distention (n = 6) or bleeding (n = 8). Only in the case of bleeding was the SCFA profile changed by an enhancement of C4 by >50%. Antibiotic therapy (n = 3) suppressed SCFA production.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study supports a hypothesis that changes in the SCFA profile could offer a noninvasive method to anticipate functional modifications of the gastrointestinal tract before the first clinical signs of pathologic events, including necrotizing enterocolitis.
authors.affiliation: Unité d'Ecologie et de Physiologie du Système Digestif, Centre de Recherche de Jouy-en-Josas, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, France.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Szylit
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maurage
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gasqui
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Popot
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Favre
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Borderon
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001724:Birth Weight; D004066:Digestive System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000032:analysis*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D005285:Fermentation; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010789:Phototherapy
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile