Rifaximin treatment SIBO IBS Children.pdf

European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences 1314 Abstract. – OBJECTIVES: Aims of the study were to assess the effects of rifaximin treatment on small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) prevalence and gastrointestinal symptoms. STUDY DESIGN: Fifty (50) irritable bowel syn- drome (IBS) children were consecutively en- rolled. All subjects underwent lactulose hydro- gen/methane breath test (LBT) to assess SIBO before and one month after the treatment with ri- faximin 600 mg daily for one week. All IBS pa- tients filled out a Visual Analogic Scale (VAS) to assess and score gastrointestinal symptoms (abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhoea, bloat- ing, flatulence) at baseline and one month after treatment. RESULTS: The prevalence of abnormal LBT in patients with IBS was 66% (33/50). LBT normal- ization rate was 64% (21/33). Compliance was ex- cellent, and no relevant side-effects were ob- served during treatment. VAS score was signifi- cantly higher in IBS patients with abnormal LBT than SIBO negatives, and strongly improved af- ter successful treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Rifaximin was effective and safe in SIBO treatment and IBS symptoms im- provement in childhood. Double blind placebo- controlled interventional studies are warranted to verify the real impact of SIBO on gastrointesti- nal symptoms in children with IBS. Key Words: Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, Irritable bow- el syndrome, Rifaximin, Lactulose breath test, Chil- dren. Introduction Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is common in children presenting to tertiary care clinics in Western countries1. Pathophysiology of IBS is currently focused on the interplay of visceral hy- Rifaximin treatment for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in children with irritable bowel syndrome: a preliminary study E. SCARPELLINI, V. GIORGIO*, M. GABRIELLI, S. FILONI*, G. VITALE, A. TORTORA, V. OJETTI, G. GIGANTE, C. FUNDARò*, A. GASBARRINI Internal Medicine Department and *Pediatric Department, School of Medicin