Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth in Children

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth is a condition in known to occur in older adults. Common causes are gut motility and exposure to long term drug use (i.e., proton pump inhibitors). It is generally not thought of as a problem in children. However, a new publication questions that belief. The study enrolled 100 children that were being evaluated for abdominal pain. Each child received a hydrogen breath test. The results were that 63% of the children tested positive for SIBO. Furthermore, when treated 88% of the children reported a reduction in their pain. This study was conducted in Poland and doesn’t necessary mean that similar results would be found in American children. It would be interesting to see if a SIBO study done in American children would reveal similar results.

Ref: Prz Gastroenterol 2015

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25960812