Background: The diagnosis of protein-losing enteropathy is aided by themeasurement of α1-antitrypsin (A1A) in stool and serum to calculate A1A clearance. The objective of this studywas to determine the performance characteristics of an ELISA for the measurement of A1A in stool and to determine reference limits for stool A1A and A1A clearance. Methods: A1A in stool was measured with a polyclonal...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate two commercial stool tests for detection of secretory IgA antibodies against gliadin and human tissue transglutaminase for diagnosis of coeliac disease in children with symptoms. SETTING Tertiary care children's hospital. PARTICIPANTS Coded stool samples from 20 children with newly diagnosed coeliac disease and 64 controls. Six children with coeliac disease had stool t...

AIMS To determine the concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) in stools from children. METHODS Stool samples from 14 healthy children, 32 children with inflammatory bowel disease, and 23 children with acute diarrhoea were emulsified in an equal volume of phosphate buffered saline and then centrifuged to produce a clear supernatant fluid. IL-6 and TN...

INTRODUCTION Immune activation has been reported in the mucosa of IBS patients with diarrhoea (IBS-D), and some small studies have suggested that mesalazine may reduce symptoms. We performed a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial of 2 g mesalazine twice daily versus placebo for 3 months in patients with Rome III criteria IBS-D. Primary outcome was daily average stool frequency duri...

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is a leading cause of childhood diarrhea in low income countries and in travelers to those areas. Inactivated enterotoxins and colonization factors (CFs) are leading vaccine candidates, therefore it is important to determine the prevailing CF types in different geographic locations and populations. Here we developed real time PCR (qPCR) assays for 14 colo...

Background Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is common after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Risk for death from GVHD has been associated with low bacterial diversity in the stool microbiota early after transplant; however, the specific species associated with GVHD risk remain poorly defined. Methods We prospectively collected serial weekly stool samples from 66 patients w...

Detection and quantification of enteropathogens in stool specimens is useful for diagnosing the cause of diarrhea but is technically challenging. Here we evaluate several important determinants of quantification: specimen collection, nucleic acid extraction, and extraction and amplification efficiency. First, we evaluate the molecular detection and quantification of pathogens in rectal swabs ve...

Dietary fiber is a non-digestible carbohydrate providing beneficial effects for bowel health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effects of fiber supplementation in enteral feeding on elderly patients suffering from diarrhea. This study was conducted in 15 patients (7 men and 8 women, 79.0 ± 7.5 years) who had loose stools or diarrhea during enteral nutrition. The enteral formul...