Agentes infecciosos y malabsorción intestinal

Abstract

Intestinal malabsorption syndromes pose a diagnostic and treatment challenge in the routine clinical practice of both primary care physicians and gastroenterology specialists. There are multiple causes of intestinal malabsorption. This update will attempt to address, in a practical manner, three entities that are clinically relevant, either because of their increasing prevalence or because of their diagnostic and treatment complexity: intestinal bacterial overgrowth, intestinal parasite infections, and intestinal immunodeficiencies.Bacterial overgrowth is a highly prevalent disease in developed countries that causes various gastrointestinal symptoms. In developing countries, intestinal parasite infections are a significant cause of morbidity. It affects 24% of the world's population. The gastrointestinal symptomatology of both diseases is associated with structural and functional disorders of the small intestine, systemic conditions, medications, and immunological disorders. Immunodeficiencies are a less frequent but no less important disorder, given the morbidity and mortality they entail. This update will address these conditions and their gastrointestinal symptoms and will attempt to answer questions, especially regarding diagnostic and treatment, that these diseases raise in clinical practice.