Plasma nitrate concentration in patients with acute diarrhoea

ABSTRACT

Ten healthy subjects, 13 patients with irritable bowel syndrome [functional diarrhoea],12 patients with acute infective enteritis and 9 patients with active ulcerative colitis were included in this study. The plasma nitrate concentration was determined in all healthy subjects and patients. Mean plasma nitrate concentration in four groups were controls 30.7 +/- 8.2 micro mol/L; irritable bowel syndrome 37 +/- 7.01 micro mol/L; ulcerative colitis 60.5 +/- 7.8 micro mol / L and infective enteritis 206.9 +/- 31.3 micro mol/L [p < 0.001 enteritis vs all other groups]. In conclusions, plasma nitrate concentration could serve as a discriminant between infective and inflammatory or functional bowel disease in patients presenting with diarrhoes. It is not clear why there is considerable difference in endogenous nitrate synthesis between infective and inflammatory bowel disease, which are both characterised by severe gut inflammation