The relationship between gut microbiota and neonatal pathologic jaundice: A pilot case-control study.

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Neonatal Health
• Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

• Neonatal jaundice is a common condition, with pathologic jaundice posing greater risks.
• Limited research exists on biomarkers for pathologic jaundice and gut microbiota correlations.
• Understanding gut microbiota in pathologic jaundice is crucial for diagnosis and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize gut microbiota in neonates with pathologic jaundice.
• To identify potential gut microbiota biomarkers for diagnosing pathologic jaundice.
• To investigate correlations between gut microbiota and clinical indices.

Main Methods:

• 16S rDNA sequencing was used to analyze microbial communities in 14 neonates with physiologic jaundice (control) and 14 with pathologic jaundice (case).
• LEfSe and relative abundance analysis identified differential bacteria between groups.
• Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis assessed biomarker efficacy, and Spearman's rank-sum test evaluated correlations.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in overall gut microbiota richness or diversity were observed between groups.
• Bacteroidetes and Braydrhizobium were significantly higher in the pathologic jaundice group.
• Actinobacteria and Bidfldobacterium were significantly lower in the pathologic jaundice group. Bacteroidetes demonstrated diagnostic value (AUC=0.839).

Conclusions:

• Bacteroidetes can serve as a valuable biomarker for differentiating pathologic jaundice from physiologic jaundice.
• Bacteroidetes exhibited a negative association with total bilirubin in the pathologic jaundice group.
• Bacteroidetes showed a positive association with total bilirubin in the control (physiologic jaundice) group.