Permeability of the Small Intestine to [51Cr]EDTA in Children with Acute Gastroenteritis or Eczema

Abstract

Increased gut permeability to macromolecules is thought to be an important factor in the development of food hypersensitivity. The latter can develop in the course of acute gastroenteritis and could play a role in infantile eczema. We studied gut permeability in 10 normal adults, 11 control children, 7 children with acute gastroenteritis, and 8 patients with infantile eczema, making use of [⁵¹Cr]EDTA as probe molecule. [⁵¹Cr]EDTA was given orally (50–100 (μC₁); 24-h urinary excretion of [^5ICr]EDTA was measured and expressed as a percentage of the oral dose. Mean and standard error were 2.35 ± 0.24, 2.51 ± 0.21, 9.96 ± 3.44, and 10.90 ± 2.05 in normal adults, control children, and gastroenteritis and eczema patients, respectively. Differences between controls and either gastroenteritis (p < 0.001) or eczema (p < 0.001) patients are significant. Our results support the hypothesis that increased gut permeability could play a role in food hypersensitivity.