Whole-gut irrigation as antiendotoxinaemic therapy in inflammatory bowel disease

Marked endotoxaemia was found in 12 patients suffering from severe relapse of chronic inflammatory bowel disease. These patients did not respond satisfactorily to conservative treatment. Whole gut irrigation was employed to reduce drastically the absorbable endotoxin pool in the gut. Following the lavage the condition of all the patients thus treated improved. Plasma endotoxins dropped rapidly, serum iron increased, and in 7 febrile patients body temperature normalized. The results obtained suggest a beneficial use of whole gut irrigation as a therapeutic means in endotoxaemia associated with inflammatory bowel disease.