Effects of enteral nutrition on intestinal permeability in patients with active ulcerative colitis

Abstract

Objective To explore the effects of enteral nutrition (EN) on intestinal permeability in patients with active ulcerative colitis (AUC). Methods Twenty-four A UC patients were randomly divided into two groups:routine treatment group (n =11 ) and routine treatment plus EN group (n =13). Patients in routine treatment group were treated with mesalazine as well as low-residue diet, while patients in routine treatment plus EN group received mesalazine and short peptide EN for 14 days. The ratio of lactulose to mannitol in urine (L/M) before and after treatment was detected by high-performance liquid chromatography. Results The L/M ratio was 0. 039 ± 0. 025 in routine treatment group and 0.072 ± 0.019 in routine treatment plus EN group (P =0.069). After 2 weeks of treatment, the L/M ratio of routine treatment plus EN group (0.038 ± 0.012 ) was significantly lower than the pretreatment level (P =0.043 ), while the L/M ratio of routine treatment group between before and after treatment had no significant difference (0.039 ± 0.025 vs. 0.032 ± 0.022, P =0.730). Conclusion EN can effectively improve the intestinal permeability in AUC patients. Key words: Ulcerative colitis; Enteral nutrition; Intestinal permeabiliy