Intestinal D-fructose absorption in 31 children was investigated using measurements of breath hydrogen. Twenty five children had no abdominal symptoms and six had functional bowel disorders. After ingestion of fructose (2 g/kg bodyweight), 22 children (71%) showed a breath hydrogen increase of more than 10 ppm over basal values, indicating incomplete absorption: the increase averaged 53 ppm, ra...

CC This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. *Correspondence: Kok-Ann Gwee, MD Gleneagles Hospital Annexe Block 05-37, 6A Napier Road...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder with significant morbidity and impairment of quality of life. Most patients (26%-83%) with IBS from Asia reported bloating. Bloating may result from increased amount or distribution of gas in the gut or exaggerated perception of distension. To evaluate whether patients with IBS produce more hydrogen even in fasting state, we co...

In paediatric practice proper digestion of carbohydrates is of major importance for adequate growth and development and for prevention of intestinal complaints. Several carbohydrates can be considered in this respect: (a) lactose: the main carbohydrate in the nutrition of early life and also in later life for many white people; (b) starch: the main energy supplier in our food; (c) fructose: a c...

A breath hydrogen test has been used widely as a noninvasive and simple method of detecting carbohydrate malabsorption as well as estimation of the small intestinal and orocecal transit time. By means of this method, we have examined the change in breath hydrogen concentration of young female students in their everyday life in order to reveal the breath hydrogen excretion profile under normal c...

Background/Aims Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a frequent condition diagnosed in children and treated with proton pump inhibitors (PPI). Long-term PPI administration can alter intestinal bacterial population by suppressing the gastric acid barrier and may cause diarrhea. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth assessed by glucose h...

BACKGROUND Lactase deficiency is a common condition responsible for various abdominal symptoms. Lactose hydrogen breath test is currently the gold standard in diagnosing lactose intolerance. AIM To assess sensitivity and specificity of symptoms developed after oral lactose challenge. METHODS Intensity of nausea, abdominal pain, borborygmi, bloating and diarrhoea was recorded every 15 min up...

BACKGROUND In vitro studies suggest that extracts of black, green, and mulberry teas could interfere with carbohydrate and triacylglycerol absorption via their ability to inhibit alpha-amylase, alpha-glucosidase, sodium-glucose transporters, and pancreatic lipase. OBJECTIVE We measured breath hydrogen and 13CO2 to investigate the ability of an extract of black, green, and mulberry tea leaves ...

BACKGROUND Small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is known to be present in patients with cirrhosis, predisposing to various complications. AIM To determine the frequency of SIBO in cirrhotics and correlate with severity of cirrhosis. METHODS Small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth was determined by glucose-hydrogen breath test (GHBT). A basal breath-hydrogen >20 ppm or a rise by > or =...