Small bowel bacterial overgrowth in patients after total gastrectomy

The aim of this study was to elucidate the consequences of small bowel bacterial overgrowth (SBBO) after total gastrectomy. A total of 127 patients, evaluated for SBBO with a radiographically controlled Hz-breath test (subgroup I, without SBBO, n = 80; subgroup II, with SBBO, n = 47) after potentially curative total gastrectomy for gastric malignancy, were uniformly evaluated. Mean time since operation was significantly shorter in subgroup II than in subgroup I [370 days, confidence interval (CI) 96-645 days, vs. 687 days, CI 397-976 days; P < 0.01]. Controlling for this difference, there were no other significant differences in symptoms and signs between the subgroups except for the medicosocial functioning measured with the Edinburgh Rehabilitation Status Scale (ERSS). The mean ERSS showed significantly better medicosocial functioning in subgroup I than in subgroup Il [3.7 (CI2.2-5.2) vs. 5.1 (CI 3.0-7.0); P < 0.05]. After total gastrectomy, patients without SBBO did not differ significantly from patients with SBBO in most parameters. Medicosocial functioning was significantly poorer in the latter.