Disturbed intestinal microbiota (dysbiosis) and micro dynamics in patients treated for appendicitis and diverticulitis

• Introduction: The human gut microbiota is a large dynamic bacterial community, which is influenced by for instance antibiotic treatment and hospitalization. In patients with inflammatory bowel disease the diversity of gut microbiota is thought to be less diverse. The role of the gut microbiota in acute appendicitis and diverticulitis is still unclear. To investigate the microbial diversity in patients suffering from appendicitis or diverticulitis, and the microbiota dynamics after antibiotic therapy and hospitalization we performed an open observation study.Methods and population: We have performed 16S rRNA sequence analysis on 42 individuals diagnosed with appendicitis and 18 individuals with diverticulitis as well as 33 healthy controls. Cultivation of the aerobic bacterial flora was performed as a complement to sequence analysis.Results: In sequencing data at genus level, there are distinctive differences when comparing healthy controls to patients diagnosed with appendicitis. Healthy controls have a flora dominated by Bacteroides, and Faecalibacterium, Ruminococcus and Prevotella while appendicitis patients show an intestinal flora with a higher abundance of Escherichia/Shigella and unclassified Enterobacteriaceae. The same pattern, however not quite as distinct could be seen for the diverticulitis patients. The microbial diversity increases after treatment with antibiotics and hospitalization.In the cultivated aerobic flora there was a significant loss of Escherichia coli and a significant gain of Citrobacter species, in the appendicitis group. In the appendicitis group as well as in the diverticulitis group there was a significant gain of Enterococcus faecium and Yeasts.Conclusion: The main findings of this study are that patients arriving at the emergency department with acute appendicitis or diverticulitis have an already significant disturbed fecal microbiota previous to antibiotic treatment and hospitalization.

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MEDICINE

MEDICIN

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