Abnormal bile salt metabolism in kwashiorkor
Redmond, A.O.; Hansen, J.D.; McHutchon, B.
South African Medical Journal 46(20): 617-618
1972
ISSN/ISBN: 0256-9574 PMID: 5039011 Document Number: 55179
Of 20 children with kwashiorkor, 8 had free bile acids in jejunal fluid on admission to hospital and persistent free bile acids were present on recovery in 3 of those 8 but at that stage there was no diarrhoea. Of 10 children with gastroenteritis, 2 had free bile acids in jejunal fluid. It is suggested that overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine deconjugates bile salts into free bile acids, as in the blind-loop syndrome.