Abstract
In twelve patients with culture-proven bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine, the ability of a newly-developed one-gramd-[14C]xylose breath test to detect bacterial overgrowth was compared to that of the [14C]bile acid breath test. All patients manifested excessive production of breath14CO2 after the administration of one gram [14C]xylose, with 83% of the patients being abnormal within the first hour of testing. In contrast, during the [14C]bile acid breath test, four of the twelve patients had no period of excessive14CO2 production (above the 95% confidence range of controls). Nutrient malabsorption (fat, cobalamin, xylose) was seen with both true-positive and false-negative bile acid breath tests. The one gram [14C]xylose breath test, utilizing a substrate with more predominant absorption in the proximal small intestine and which can be catabolized by Gram-negative aerobic bacteria, appears to have a greater degree of sensitivity and specificity than the bile acid breath test in detecting the presence of small-intestine bacterial overgrowth.
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Dr. King is the recipient of a Research Associate Award from the Veterans Administration. During the performance of these studies Dr. Toskes was the recipient of a Clinical Investigator Award from the Veterans Administration.
Supported in part by Grant #RR-82 from the National Institutes of Health.
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King, C.E., Toskes, P.P., Guilarte, T.R. et al. Comparison of the one-gramd-[14C]xylose breath test to the [14C]bile acid breath test in patients with small-intestine bacterial overgrowth. Digest Dis Sci 25, 53–58 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01312733
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01312733