LAUSR

OBJECTIVE Pancreatic damage as pancreatitis, intestinal bacteria, and glucose imbalance could be interrelates. This study was to investigate the breath hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) indicating the status of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and to survey the link between SIBO and glucose tolerance in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP). METHODS This prospective study enrolled 75 patients who admitted for AP. Glucose breath test (GBT) for detecting breath hydrogen H2 and CH4 for SIBO with oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) for 120 mins was simultaneously performed to determine SIBO and glucose tolerance. Demographics, laboratory data, and computed tomography severity index (CTSI) were also evaluated. RESULTS The levels of total breath H2 and CH4 in patients with AP were significantly higher than those in controls, respectively (p < 0.01). Whereas no significant differences in SIBO between patients with AP and controls. During OGTT, serum glucose levels at 30, 60, 90, and 120 min in SIBO - positive patients were significantly higher or tended to be higher than those in SIBO - negative patients. No significant differences in CTSI, demographic or laboratory data were observed between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS A breath H2 and CH4 are relatively high in patients with AP. The concentration of breath H2 and CH4 for the presence of intestinal bacteria appears to be associated with oral glucose intolerance with aggravated hyperglycemia in patients with AP.