Small Bowel Bacterial Overgrowth (SBBO)

Table 1. Characteristic Clinical Features of SBBO
    • Diarrhea
    • Steatorrhea
    • Cobalamin (Vitamin B12) Malabsorption
    • Decreased Urinary Xylose Excretion
    • Hypoalbuminemia

Table 2. Indigenous Bacterial Population of the Normal Human Gastrointestinal Tract
Feature
Stomach
Jejunum
Ileum
Colon

Total Bacteria Counts*

Aerobes/Facultative Anaerobes

Anaerobes*

0-3

0-3

0

0-4

0-4

0

5-8

2-5

3-7

10-12

2-9

9-12

*Log 10 CFU per gram of contents

Table 3. Important Endogenous Factors Preventing SBBO

    • Normal Intestinal Motility
    • Appropriate Gastric Acid Secretion
    • Intact Ileocecal Sphincter
    • Immunoglobulins Within Intestinal Secretions
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