Diagnosis and Treatment of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth

Toman Nababan (Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia/Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General National Hospital, Jakarta)
Achmad Fauzi (Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine University of Indonesia/Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo General National Hospital, Jakarta)

The Indonesian Journal of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Digestive Endoscopy
Vol 16, No 2 (2015): VOLUME 16, NUMBER 2, August 2015

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) is a clinical condition, in which excess amounts of bacteria are found in small intestine. SIBO occurred when normal homeostatic mechanism which control enteric bacteria population disrupted. Elderly patients are more vulnerable to SIBO which can be caused by two conditions, which are gastric acid reduction and disproportionately drugs consumption which then caused hypomotility. There are several methods to diagnose SIBO, but diagnose often begin with suspicion and history of risk factors of SIBO. There are two most frequent tests in SIBO diagnostic, which are bacterial culture examination and breath test. Treatments of SIBO are: (1) Treatment of underlying disease and improvement of medical condition; (2) Eradication of excess bacterial growth; (3) Resolve nutritional deficiencies which related to SIBO.