Protein-losing enteropathy associated with Clostridium difficile infection

A commercially available radial immunodiffusion assay was used to measure serum alpha-1-antitrypsin levels in stool samples from subjects aged over 60 years as a marker of protein-losing enteropathy. alpha sub(1)-antitrypsin was found in all of 12 patients with colonoscopy-confirmed pseudomembranous...

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Published inThe Lancet (North American edition) Vol. 1; no. 8651; pp. 1353 - 1355
Main Authors Rybolt, AH, Bennett, R G, Laughon, B E, Thomas, DR, Greenough, WB III, Bartlett, J G
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.01.1989
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Summary:A commercially available radial immunodiffusion assay was used to measure serum alpha-1-antitrypsin levels in stool samples from subjects aged over 60 years as a marker of protein-losing enteropathy. alpha sub(1)-antitrypsin was found in all of 12 patients with colonoscopy-confirmed pseudomembranous colitis, 6 of 14 (43%) patients with Clostridium difficile) diarrhoea without pseudomembranes, 6 of 12 (50%) nursing-home patients culture-positive for Cl. difficile but negative for its cytotoxin, and none of 15 healthy control subjects. It is concluded that serum protein loss into the gastrointestinal tract can occur as a result of Cl. difficile infection, that its presence correlates with the severity of disease, and that it may occur even in the absence of diarrhoea.
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ISSN:0099-5355