Campylobacter Enteritis and PI-BD: Role of Antibiotics and Microbiota
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An Observational Study of the Role of Antibiotics, Inflammation and Changes in Microbiota in the development of Post-Infective Bowel Dysfunction following infection with Campylobacter jejuni or coli
IRAS ID
127085
Contact name
Robin C Spiller
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Research summary
Campylobacter bacteria are one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis in the UK. Previous studies have found that up to 1 in 4 patients go on having symptoms related to their bowels for months (post-infectious bowel dysfunction: PI-BD). 1 in 10 patients develop post-infectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome (PI-IBS), with regular pain in the tummy. Antibiotics are not normally recommended for Campylobacter but people often request them and they are sometimes prescribed.
In healthy people there are a huge number of bacteria living in the large bowel. These bacteria are called microbiota. When people contract a bowel infection they lose many of their normal microbiota. We think that the failure of the microbiota to recover to normal levels may explain why people develop PI-BD. Taking antibiotics at the same time as the infection might reduce the microbiota even further, increasing the risk of PI-BD. The risk may also be influenced by the patient’s mood and attitude to health, immune system’s response to the infection, the strain of Campylobacter that infects them, diet and genetic factors.
Our study will follow a group (cohort) of people around Nottingham who contract a Campylobacter infection. Participants will complete questionnaires, and also diaries of their diet and bowel habit. They will provide samples of stool and breath and one blood sample. After 3 months we will see who still has PI-BD. We can then work out which factors contribute to the risk of PI-BD. By collecting data before we know the outcome we can allow for different factors that might all have an effect at once.
The aim of the study is see if taking antibiotics increases the risk of PI-BD. We will also investigate the changes in microbiota that occur after infection to improve our understanding of how they are affected.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/EM/0310
Date of REC Opinion
29 Aug 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion