Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Apr 16, 2022; 10(11): 3401-3413
Published online Apr 16, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i11.3401
Washed microbiota transplantation reduces serum uric acid levels in patients with hyperuricaemia
Jin-Rong Cai, Xin-Wen Chen, Yu-Jian He, Bin Wu, Min Zhang, Li-Hao Wu
Jin-Rong Cai, Xin-Wen Chen, Yu-Jian He, Bin Wu, School of Clinical Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510030, Guangdong Province, China
Min Zhang, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510220, Guangdong Province, China
Li-Hao Wu, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510030, Guangdong Province, China
Li-Hao Wu, Research Center, Engineering Techniques of Microbiota-Targeted Therapies of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510030, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Cai JR, Chen XW, He YJ and Wu B jointly analysed the data, wrote the manuscript, and contributed equally to this article; Zhang M provided statistical advice; Wu LH designed the study and revised the manuscript; all authors read and approved the manuscript.
Supported by the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students of Guangdong Province, No. S201910573028.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, No. 68.
Informed consent statement: All participants signed written informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We have no financial relationships to disclose.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Li-Hao Wu, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, No. 19 Nonglinxia Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou 510030, Guangdong Province, China. wulihao888@126.com
Received: October 27, 2021
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
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Previous studies have found that hyperuricaemia (HUA) is closely related to intestinal flora imbalance.

AIM

The current study investigated the effects and safety of washed microbiota transplantation (WMT) on serum uric acid (SUA) levels in different populations.

METHODS

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.

RESULTS

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.

CONCLUSION

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.

Keywords: Washed microbiota transplantation, Hyperuricaemia, Intestinal flora, Effect, Safety, Retrospective study

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.