Fecal lactate and short bowel syndrome

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Abstract
In patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS), the carbohydrate overload to the colon may disturb the normal pattern of colonic fermentation with production ofd-lactic acid and subsequent development of a metabolicd-lactic acidosis. We measuredd-lactic acid in blood, urine, and feces, as well as the composition of fecal water and fecal reducing substances from 11 patients with SBS, comparing the results with those from normal subjects. The fecal water from patients with SBS was characterized by low pH, potassium, and volatile fatty acids, high osmotic gap, and high concentration ofl- andd-lactic acid. Five of 11 had abnormal amounts of fecal reducing substances. Fecald-lactic acid was increased in nine of 11 patients. However, none of these patients showedd-lactic acid in urine, and only one had a very low concentration in plasma. These results show thatd-lactic acid was overproduced in the colon of most of the patients with SBS. However, other factors such as absorption or impairedd-lactic acid metabolism may be necessary for a plasmatic increase ofd-lactic acid.