Published online Apr 16, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i11.3401
Peer-review started: October 27, 2021
First decision: December 27, 2021
Revised: January 8, 2022
Accepted: February 17, 2022
Article in press: February 27, 2022
Published online: April 16, 2022
Previous studies have found that hyperuricaemia (HUA) is closely related to intestinal flora imbalance.
The current study investigated the effects and safety of washed microbiota transplantation (WMT) on serum uric acid (SUA) levels in different populations.
A total of 144 patients who received WMT from July 2016 to April 2020 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University and had SUA data before treatment were selected. Changes in SUA levels before and after treatment were retrospectively reviewed based on short-term and mid-term effects of WMT regimens. SUA levels measured in the last test within 3 mo after the first WMT represented the short-term effect, and SUA levels measured in the last test within 3-6 mo after the first WMT represented the mid-term effect. The patients were divided into an HUA group (SUA > 416 μM) and a normal uric acid (NUA) group (SUA ≥ 202 μM to ≤ 416 μM) based on pretreatment SUA levels.
Average short-term SUA levels in the HUA group decreased after WMT (481.00 ± 99.85 vs 546.81 ± 109.64 μM, n = 32, P < 0.05) in 25/32 patients and returned to normal in 10/32 patients. The short-term level of SUA reduction after treatment moderately correlated with SUA levels before treatment (r = 0.549, R² = 0.300, P < 0.05). Average SUA levels decreased after the first and second courses of WMT (469.74 ± 97.68 vs 540.00 ± 107.16 μM, n = 35, and 465.57 ± 88.88 vs 513.19 ± 78.14 μM, n = 21, P < 0.05). Short-term and mid-term SUA levels after WMT and SUA levels after the first, second and third courses of WMT were similar to the levels before WMT in the NUA group (P > 0.05). Only 1/144 patients developed mild diarrhea after WMT.
WMT reduces short-term SUA levels in patients with HUA with mild side effects but has no obvious effect on SUA levels in patients with NUA.
Core Tip: In this study, we demonstrate that washed microbiota transplantation (WMT) can lower serum uric acid (SUA) levels in patients with hyperuricaemia in the short term with only mild side effects but that WMT has no obvious effect on the SUA levels of people with normal uric acid levels.