The relevance of intestinal dysbiosis in liver transplant candidates
Abstract
The gut microbial ecosystem plays an important role in the pathogenesis of liver diseases. However, the association of microbial community structure with the severity of liver dysfunction is not completely understood. Fecal microflora was assessed in 40 patients with liver cirrhosis listed for primary liver transplantation (LT). Independent associations between fecal microbial counts and serum bilirubin, serum creatinine, international normalized ratio (INR), and the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score were established in multiple linear regression models. Bifidobacterium (standardized regression coefficient [sβ] = -0.549; P < 0.001), Enterococcus (sβ = 0.369; P = 0.004), and yeast (sβ = 0.315; P = 0.018) numbers were independently associated with serum bilirubin, while Escherichia coli counts (sβ = 0.318; P = 0.046) correlated with INR, and Bifidobacterium counts (sβ = 0.410; P = 0.009) with serum creatinine. Only Bifidobacterium (sβ = -0.468; P = 0.003) and Enterococcus (sβ = 0.331; P = 0.029) counts were independent predictors of the MELD score. Bifidobacterium/Enterococcus ratio, proposed as a measure of pre-LT gut dysbiosis, was significantly related to the MELD score following the adjustment for the absolute Bi...Continue Reading
References
Citations
Related Concepts
Related Feeds
Bacteriotherapy (ASM)
Bacteriotherapy, also known as fecal transplantation, involves the transfer of stool from a healthy donor into the gastrointestinal tract for the purpose of treating recurrent C. difficile colitis. Here is the latest on bacteriotherapy.
Bacteriotherapy
Bacteriotherapy, also known as fecal transplantation, involves the transfer of stool from a healthy donor into the gastrointestinal tract for the purpose of treating recurrent C. difficile colitis. Here is the latest on bacteriotherapy.