Rapid and Sustained Long-Term Decrease of Fecal Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Critically Ill Patients With Systemic...

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Critical Care Medicine
• Microbiome Research

Background:

• The gut is vulnerable to injury in severe illness.
• Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are crucial for gut health but understudied in critically ill patients.
• Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) impacts gut function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate serial changes in fecal SCFAs in patients with severe SIRS.
• To compare SCFA levels in SIRS patients with healthy controls.
• To explore the relationship between SCFAs and gastrointestinal complications in SIRS.

Main Methods:

• 140 intensive care unit (ICU) patients with SIRS were studied.
• Fecal samples were analyzed for butyrate, propionate, and acetate concentrations weekly for 6 weeks using high-performance liquid chromatography.
• Data were compared to healthy volunteers.

Main Results:

• Fecal SCFA concentrations (butyrate, propionate, acetate) were significantly lower in SIRS patients compared to healthy volunteers.
• SCFA levels remained low throughout the 6-week ICU stay.
• Patients with gastrointestinal complications had lower SCFA levels than those without.

Conclusions:

• Critically ill patients with severe SIRS exhibit persistently low fecal SCFA concentrations.
• Therapeutic strategies aimed at maintaining SCFAs could potentially prevent gastrointestinal complications in this vulnerable population.