Intestinal permeability to chromium-51 ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid in children with chronic obstructive respiratory disease: relationship with clinical and duodenal biopsy findings.
Intestinal permeability (IP) to 51-Cr ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid was investigated in 47 children with chronic obstructive respiratory disease (CORD). Endoscopic duodenal biopsies were performed in 22 of these patients. IP was significantly increased in CORD patients when compared to either control children or adults (P less than 0.001). Mean +/- 1 SD were 4.3 +/- 1.71%, 2.5 +/- 0.78%, and 2.3 +/- 0.77% in the three groups, respectively. IP was not related to the presence of atopy. Significant differences in IP results were found between CORD children with abdominal pain (4.5 +/- 1.4%) and both control children and CORD patients without abdominal pain (2.5 +/- 0.78% and 3.2 +/- 1.49%, respectively). A significant correlation was found between small bowel injury on the one hand and IP on the other hand (P less than 0.02). Furthermore, small bowel injury was significantly related to the presence of abdominal pain (P less than 0.05). We speculate that in CORD patients with abdominal pain, a factor exists that causes small bowel injury responsible for both abdominal pain and increased small bowel permeability. Food intolerance could, presumably, play a role in the mucosal damage-linked IP increase found in the subset of CORD patients who complain of abdominal pain.