Published online Mar 14, 2022. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i10.1067
Peer-review started: May 15, 2021
First decision: June 27, 2021
Revised: June 29, 2021
Accepted: February 9, 2022
Article in press: February 9, 2022
Published online: March 14, 2022
Gut dysbiosis and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) are commonly observed in patients with cirrhosis.
Despite the substantial number of articles describing the relations between disorders of gut microbiota and various manifestations of cirrhosis, dysbiosis and SIBO were always studied separately.
To study the relationship of gut dysbiosis and SIBO in cirrhosis.
This observational study included 47 in-patients with cirrhosis. Stool microbiome was assessed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. SIBO was assessed using the lactulose hydrogen breath test.
Patients with SIBO had a higher abundance of Firmicutes and Fusobacteria, and a lower abundance of Bacteroidetes than patients without SIBO. This increase in the abundance of Firmicutes occurred mainly due to an increase in the abundance of bacteria from the genus Blautia of the Lachnospiraceae family, while the abundance of other major families of this phylum did not differ significantly between the patients with and without SIBO. There were no significant differences in the abundance of taxa that were the main biomarkers of cirrhosis-associated gut dysbiosis between patients with and without SIBO.
Despite the differences observed in the gut microbiome between patients with and without SIBO, gut dysbiosis and SIBO are most likely independent disorders of gut microbiota in cirrhosis.
Research perspectives are to study the mechanisms of development of SIBO and gut dysbiosis in patients with cirrhosis.