Reversible Secondary Disaccharidase Deficiency

Abstract

DIETARY disaccharides are hydrolyzed by specific enzymes in the brush border membrane of the small intestinal surface epithelial cells. 1 Disaccharide malabsorption may be primary and result from the congenital or acquired absence of a specific functional element of the digestive-absorptive surface or may be secondary and caused by a reduction in the total available digestive-absorptive surface, as a consequence of other disease. 2 Young children whose initial symptoms are consistent with gastroenteritis may develop a temporary secondary disaccharidase deficiency associated with intestinal mucosal damage. 3 This report will present such a patient and discuss the confusion that may arise in diagnosis, if complete studies are not performed. Methods Oral carbohydrate-tolerance tests were performed in a uniform fashion using 2 gm of sugar per kilogram of body weight. The blood sugar was determined in duplicate by the Nelson-Somogyi method 4 on samples obtained from the fasting patient and at one-half