Incidence of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and Symptoms After 7 Days of Proton Pump Inhibitor Use: A Study on Healthy Volunteers.

INTRODUCTION: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are commonly prescribed drugs. Chronic PPI use has recently been associated with the risk for developing small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). It is not known whether the short-term prescription of a PPI can trigger SIBO. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the incidence of SIBO and gastrointestinal symptoms after 7 days of PPI use. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective, pilot, open-label study was conducted on asymptomatic healthy volunteers. The incidence of SIBO was evaluated at the baseline and after administration of 40 mg of pantoprazole once a day for 7 days, through a glucose breath test. In addition, the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms, the number of bowel movements, and the consistency of stools, according to the Bristol scale, were assessed. RESULTS: Thirty-eight healthy subjects (71.1% women, mean age 25.18 ± 6.5 years) were analyzed. The incidence of SIBO after 7 days of PPI administration was 7.8% (95% CI 1.6-21.3%). The patients that developed SIBO had a greater prevalence of bloating (p = 0.0002) and flatulence (p = 0.004) after 7 days of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that a short-term 7-day PPI course produced SIBO in 7.8% of healthy subjects. Although, inappropriate use of PPIs should be discouraged, but since more than 90% of subjects who received PPIs for one week did not develop SIBO, the advantages of PPI administration seem to outweigh the disadvantages.

Late-onset 'sloughing esophagitis' (esophagitis dissecans superficialis) associated with bullous pemphigoid.

Pemphigus is a rare autoimmune disease that causes blistering of the skin and oral mucosa. In bullous pemphigoid (BP), skin involvement is predominant, whereas oesophageal involvement is rare, compared with other blistering diseases. We present, herein, the case of a 67-year-old man with a history of successfully treated BP that 2 years later developed progressive dysphagia, unintentional weight loss and iron deficiency anaemia. An endoscopy with biopsies was performed, and its findings were consistent with 'sloughing esophagitis' (esophagitis dissecans superficialis) associated with BP. Oesophageal involvement was present during the first weeks, making our case unusual due to the isolated oesophageal symptoms that developed 24 months later.