Science Short

Microbiome make-up could help predict risk of cirrhosis hospitalisation

By Nathan Gray

- Last updated on GMT

©iStock / ChrisChrisW
©iStock / ChrisChrisW
Our gut microbes could be a 'highly accurate' predictor of hospitalisations for people with cirrhosis, say researchers.

"Hospitalisations that take place with cirrhosis are exorbitantly expensive,"​ commented lead author Jasmohan Bajaj, M.D. from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. "Anything that helps us predict the likelihood of hospitalization is better than the status quo."

Bajaj and colleagues used a combination of microbial DNA and RNA analysis – alongside normal clinical methods – to test whether it was possible to more accurately predict 90-day hospitalisation.

"One of the major sources of inflammation in patients with cirrhosis or individuals who are obese is pathogenic bacteria, so, we began looking at gut microbes,"​ added Bajaj. "People with cirrhosis who are hospitalized tend to get a very big inflammatory surge in their body because of infections and other organ failures."

Both DNA and RNA analysis were found to be equally effective at predicting hospitalization when combined with the standard predictive blood test, the team said, adding that the microbial analysis was also more effective than the standard predictive blood test score alone.

The team also noted that DNA and RNA analysis identified similar beneficial bacteria but differed in the pathogenic bacteria identified in all patient groups tested.

Bajaj and colleagues are now preparing a multi-centre trial with a consortium of North American research centres. The team hope to further confirm the effectiveness of microbial analysis in cirrhosis outcome prediction.

Source: JCI Insight
Published online, Open Access, doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.98019
“Gut microbial RNA and DNA analysis predicts hospitalizations in cirrhosis”
Authors: Jasmohan S. Bajaj, et al

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