HEALTH NEWS

Study Title:

Efficacy of antibiotherapy for treating flatus incontinence associated with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth: A pilot randomized trial.

Study Abstract

AIM:
An increase in intestinal gas production due to small intestinal bowel overgrowth (SIBO) is a contributing factor for flatus incontinence. The aims of our study were to assess the efficacy of metronidazole in a select population of patients with flatus incontinence associated with SIBO and to compare its efficacy with that of a combination of simethicone and activated charcoal (SC; Carbosylane) in randomized experimental arms.
METHODS:
Adult patients suffering from flatus incontinence associated with SIBO diagnosed by a glucose breath test were enrolled in the study. They were given metronidazole or Carbosylane (SC) for 10 days. The reduction in the mean daily number of gas leakages reported in a 3-day diary before and at the end of the treatment was used as the primary endpoint.
RESULTS:
Of 52 consecutive subjects with flatus incontinence, 23 (44%) had SIBO, 16 (33%) of whom were included in and completed the study. The relative reduction in flatus incontinence episodes was significantly higher in the metronidazole than in the SC group (66.8±34.8% vs. 25±50%, P = 0.03), decreasing by more than 50% in 7 (87.5%) of the subjects in the metronidazole group compared with only 1 (12.5%) in the SC group (odds ratio 1.9, 95% confidence interval 0.9-56.9, P = 0.06).
CONCLUSION:
Our results show a promising trend indicating that metronidazole might significantly improve flatus incontinence associated with SIBO and might be more successful in treating flatus incontinence than gas absorbents.

Study Information

PLoS One. 2017 Aug 1;12(8):e0180835. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180835. eCollection 2017.

Full Study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28763464
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