Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in human cirrhosis is associated with systemic endotoxemia.
OBJECTIVE
Systemic endotoxemia has been implicated in various pathophysiological sequelae of chronic liver disease. One of its potential causes is increased intestinal absorption of endotoxin. We therefore examined the association of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth with systemic endotoxemia in patients with cirrhosis.


METHODS
Fifty-three consecutive patients with cirrhosis (Child-Pugh group A, 23; group B, 18; group C, 12) were included. Jejunal secretions were cultivated quantitatively and systemic endotoxemia determined by the chromogenic Limulus amoebocyte assay. Patients were followed up for 1 yr.


RESULTS
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, defined as > or = 10(5) total colony forming units per milliliter of jejunal secretions, was present in 59% of patients and strongly associated with acid suppressive therapy. The mean plasma endotoxin level was 0.86 +/- 0.48 endotoxin units/ml (range = 0.03-1.44) and was significantly associated with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (0.99 vs 0.60 endotoxin units/ml, p = 0.03). During the 1-yr follow-up, seven patients were lost to follow up or underwent liver transplantation and 12 patients died. Multivariate Cox regression showed Child-Pugh group to be the only predictor for survival.


CONCLUSIONS
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in cirrhotic patients is common and associated with systemic endotoxemia. The clinical relevance of this association remains to be defined.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D019446:Endotoxemia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007583:Jejunum / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors