Altered Intestinal Microflora, Blind-Loop Syndrome

Altered Intestinal Microflora, Blind-Loop Syndrome 

The pathophysiology and clinical setting of the blind-loop syndrome have been reviewed recently by Donaldson (30). It is clear that a resident bacterial flora in the proximal small intestine has a major role in the development of the absorptive and luminal defects which have been observed repeatedly in these patients (20,31-35), who have a variety of basic illness, and in experimental animals (31,36) in which an antiperistaltic pouch has been constructed either in the proximal or middle jejunum. However, the presence and extent of the absorptive defects, i.e., vitamin B12, folate, xylose, and lipid, as well as the extent of luminal metabolic alteration of bile salts have varied in individual patients. This variability is probably related to 

TABLE III. Distribution of Taurocholate Amidase and Cholate-7-dehydroxylase Among Various Bacterial Genera 

Species Number of strains tested Percentage showing taurocholate amidase Percentage possessing cholic acid-7-dehydroxylase 

Hofmann, L. J. Schoenfield, B. A. Kottke, and J. R. Poley, in Methods in Medical Research (R. E. Olson, ed.). Year Book Medical Publishers, Chicago (1970), pp. 149-179. 

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B. Altered Intestinal Microflora, Blind-Loop Syndrome... 

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