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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffA blind loop can cause an escalating series of problems, including:
- Poor absorption of fats. Because bacteria in your small intestine break down (deconjugate) the bile salts needed to emulsify and digest fats, the fat in food as well as the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K aren't well absorbed. This leads to diarrhea and often to steatorrhea — fatty, foul-smelling stools — as well as to weight loss and vitamin deficiency disorders. A lack of vitamin A can cause night blindness, for example, and low levels of vitamin D affect your body's ability to absorb calcium, which can lead to weakened bones and contribute to many other disorders.
- Damage to the intestinal lining. Bacterial overgrowth harms the mucous lining (mucosa) of the small intestine both directly and indirectly. Toxic byproducts that are released when bacteria break down stagnant food damage the mucosa, as do bacterial enzymes. This damage means that most nutrients, including carbohydrates and proteins, are poorly absorbed, leading to serious nutritional deficiencies.
- Vitamin B-12 deficiency. Vitamin B-12, which is essential for the normal functioning of your nervous system and the production of blood cells and DNA, is absorbed in your small intestine. But proliferating bacteria actually use up the vitamin, reducing the amount that's available to your body. A severe deficiency can lead to weakness, fatigue, tingling and numbness in your hands and feet, and, in advanced cases, to mental confusion. Damage to your central nervous system resulting from a B-12 deficiency may be irreversible.
- Brittle bones (osteoporosis). Both calcium and vitamin D, which aids in calcium absorption, are metabolized in your small intestine. Damage to your intestine from abnormal bacterial growth over a long period of time causes poor calcium absorption and eventually may lead to bone diseases such as osteoporosis.
References
- Turnage RH, et al. Abdominal wall, umbilicus, peritoneum, mesenteries, omentum, and retroperitoneum. In: Townsend CM, et al. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/164856770-3/902155171/1565/469.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3675-3..50052-6--cesec137_2746. Accessed Oct. 13, 2009.
- Vanderhoof JA, et al. Pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of bacterial overgrowth. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 13, 2009.
- Bacterial overgrowth syndrome: Malabsorption syndromes. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec02/ch017/ch017b.html. Accessed Oct. 13, 2009.
- Vanderhoof JA, et al. Treatment of bacterial overgrowth. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 13, 2009.
- Kahn E, et al. Anatomy, histology, embryology, and developmental anomalies of the small and large intestine. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/164856770-5/902188062/1389/733.html#4-u1.0-B1-4160-0245-6..50104-9--cesec7_4663. Accessed Oct. 13, 2009.
- Picco MF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Oct. 21, 2009.
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