INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL ON GASTROINTESTINAL MOTILITY - LACTULOSE BREATH HYDROGEN TESTING IN OROCECAL TRANSIT-TIME IN CHRONIC-ALCOHOLICS, SOCIAL DRINKERS AND TEETOTALER SUBJECTS

Background/Aims: The gastrointestinal tract is directly affected by th e ingestion of alcohol. While the effect of acute ingestion of alcohol on the motility of the small intestine is well known, the influence o f chronic intake of moderate amounts of alcohol and chronic alcoholism on gastrointestinal motility remains poorly understood. The aim of th is study was to examine the orocecal transit (OCt) times in patients w ith chronic alcoholism and in ''social drinkers'' and compare them wit h a group of healthy teetotaler subjects, to assess the effects of chr onic alcohol consumption on gastrointestinal transit through the appli cation of a non-invasive technique: the hydrogen breath test. Methodol ogy: Thirty-one alcoholics were enrolled in the study. The control gro ups consisted of 31 healthy social drinkers and 24 healthy teetotaler subjects. OCt time was assessed using the hydrogen breath test after t he administration of 10g of lactulose. Results: The OCt time in. patie nts with alcoholism was significantly delayed as compared with the soc ial drinkers (p<0.001) and healthy teetotaler subjects (p<0.001); the OCt time in social drinkers was significantly longer than in healthy t eetotaler subjects (p<0.05). In the alcoholic group, there Ic!as no si gnificant correlation between the OCt time and daily alcohol intake or years of alcohol addiction. Conclusion: Our results show a significan t prolongation of the OCt time, both in patients with alcoholism and i n social drinkers, as compared to teetotaler subjects. Our findings of an increased OCt time related to the consumption of alcohol could sup port the hypothesis of the toxic effect of ethanol on smooth muscle co ntractile proteins of the small intestine and on vagal function.