ALTERATIONS IN INTESTINAL MOTILITY AND MICROFLORA IN EXPERIMENTAL ACUTE-PANCREATITIS

Conclusion, A delay in intestinal transit time appears as an early eve nt in acute pancreatitis, preceding intestinal bacterial overgrowth an d translocation,Background, Septic complications, primarily caused by bacteria of enteric origin, are frequent in severe acute pancreatitis. Impairment in intestinal motility probably plays a pathophysiological role in the development of bacterial overgrowth and ensuing transloca tion. Methods, In the present study, the influence of acute pancreatit is on intestinal motility was evaluated by measuring small intestinal transit time in the rat. Acute pancreatitis was induced by the retrogr ade intraductal infusion of 0.2 mt taurodeoxycholate. Intestinal trans it time was studied by intraduodenal injection of Krebs' phosphate-buf fered solution labeled with (Na2CrCO4)-Cr-51, and 1 h small intestinal transit was measured at 1, 3, 12, and 24 h, after induction of pancre atitis. Bacterial overgrowth was evaluated by measuring Escherichia co li counts in the colon and distal small intestine, and bacterial trans location to mesenteric lymph nodes, the liver, spleen, and pancreas wa s determined. Results, A delayed small intestinal transit time was not ed from 3 h on after induction of acute pancreatitis, with most of the radioactivity retained in the first two intestinal segments. Overgrow th of E. coil was noted 12 h after induction of pancreatitis in both t he colon and distal small intestine, and at the same time-point, a sig nificant increase in the incidence of bacterial translocation to mesen teric lymph nodes was seen.