Intestinal microflora in children with secondary hyperoxaluria and allergic respiratory diseases

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The intestinal microflora has an important role in the human body by influencing metabolic processes. It is proved that changes in intestinal microbiocenosis can cause the development of diseases. To date, the state of the intestinal microflora in children with impaired oxalate metabolism in combination with allergic pathology remains insufficiently studied. AIM: The aim of the research was to study the intestinal microflora in children with secondary hyperoxaluria and allergic respiratory diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined 50 children aged 3 to 7 years with a diagnosis of secondary hyperoxaluria. The children were divided into two groups: group I — children with secondary hyperoxaluria and allergic respiratory diseases (n = 21); group II — children with secondary hyperoxaluria without allergic respiratory diseases (n = 29). All patients underwent a study of the state of intestinal microflora using fecal analysis by real-time PCR with fluorescence detection. The high-performance liquid chromatography method was used to determine the level of short-chain fatty acids in the feces of patients with secondary hyperoxaluria and allergic respiratory diseases. RESULTS: The level of oxaluria is higher in patients with a combination of secondary hyperoxaluria and allergic respiratory diseases than with isolated secondary hyperoxaluria (p = 0.018). Changes in the intestinal microflora were detected in all patients with secondary hyperoxaluria (100%, n = 50). Сhildren with secondary hyperoxaluria and allergic respiratory diseases had a lower intestinal content of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (p = 0.004) and Ruminococcus spp. (p = 0.017), there were also violations of the metabolic activity of bacteria, manifested by a decrease in the concentration of monocarboxylic acids: acetic (0.18 ± 0.09), butyric (0.006 ± 0.003), valerian (0.003 ± 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Secondary hyperoxaluria in children aged 3 to 7 years is combined with a violation of the intestinal microflora, more pronounced in allergic respiratory diseases.