J Gastroenterol Hepatol Endosc | Volume 1, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access
Christian Schulz, Kerstin Schütte, Nino Reisener, Julia Voss, Arne Kandulski and Peter Malfertheiner*
Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany
*Correspondance to: Peter Malfertheiner
Fulltext PDFBackground and
Aim: Bacterial ammonia is considered to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of (minimal) hepatic encephalopathy ((M) HE). The urease activity of intestinal bacteria is recognized as a relevant factor. This has led to therapeutic strategies based on non-resorbable antibiotics and non-resorbable disaccharides. The role of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is still unclear whereby recently published studies revealed a significant association between the prevalence of SIBO and MHE. Patients and
Methods: 52 consecutive patients with liver cirrhosis underwent MHE testing by critical flicker frequency analysis and testing for SIBO with the H2 glucose breath test (H2 BT).
Results: The prevalence of MHE was 38.5% whereas the prevalence of SIBO was 0% in patients suffering from MHE and 3.2% in cirrhotic patients without MHE. Discussion and
Conclusion: Non-invasive tests for SIBO do not detect dysbalances in the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the pathogenesis of MHE. Molecular technique driven approaches are needed to identify distinct changes in the bacterial composition in patients with (M) HE
Minimal hepatic encephalopathy; Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth; Liver cirrhosis; Hepatic encephalopathy
Schulz C, Schütte K, Reisener N, Voss J, Kandulski A, Malfertheiner P. Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth is not Associated with Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis. J Gastroenterol Hepatol Endosc. 2016;1(1):1001.