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Application of the Glucose Hydrogen Breath Test for the Detection of Bacterial Overgrowth in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis––A Reliable Method?

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Abstract

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have recently been deemed highly susceptible for bacterial intestinal overgrowth (BIO). We aimed to define the prevalence of BIO in children with CF by applying the H2-glucose breath test. Forty children with CF and ten healthy children received 1 g/kg D-glucose orally. Breath samples for H2 content (ppm) were collected for 3 h. BIO was suspected if the breath hydrogen content increased by more than 20 ppm or if baseline concentrations topped 20 ppm. In 27 of 40 CF children (68%), breath hydrogen content exceeded 20 ppm. Whereas the breath hydrogen exhalation persisted above 20 ppm in almost all these children throughout the sampling period, none of the remaining children increased above this threshold. The high rate of CF children with elevated fasting hydrogen breath concentrations indicates that this phenomenon is less a sign of BIO rather than a consequence of global malabsorption and intestinal dysmotility.

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Acknowledgment

This study was performed without funding from third parties. The authors do not have any disclosures to declare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Department I (ZAFES), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, Frankfurt/Main, 60590, Germany

    Arne R. J. Schneider, Stefanie Klueber, Lydia Murzynski, Wolfgang F. Caspary & Juergen Stein

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Hospital of the J.W. Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany

    Hans-Georg Posselt & Benjamin Funk

Authors
  1. Arne R. J. Schneider
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  2. Stefanie Klueber
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  3. Hans-Georg Posselt
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  4. Benjamin Funk
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  5. Lydia Murzynski
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  6. Wolfgang F. Caspary
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  7. Juergen Stein
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Correspondence to Arne R. J. Schneider.

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Schneider, A.R.J., Klueber, S., Posselt, HG. et al. Application of the Glucose Hydrogen Breath Test for the Detection of Bacterial Overgrowth in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis––A Reliable Method?. Dig Dis Sci 54, 1730–1735 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-008-0559-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-008-0559-5

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