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Review
Microbiome and paediatric gut diseases
  1. Konstantinos Gerasimidis1,
  2. Konstantinos Gkikas1,
  3. Christopher Stewart2,
  4. Esther Neelis3,
  5. Vaios Svolos1
  1. 1 Human Nutrition, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
  2. 2 Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
  3. 3 Paediatric Gastroenterology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  1. Correspondence to Professor Konstantinos Gerasimidis, Human Nutrition, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G3 8SJ, UK; konstantinos.gerasimidis{at}glasgow.ac.uk

Abstract

In the human gut resides a vast community of microorganisms which perform critical functions for the maintenance of whole body homeostasis. Changes in the composition and function of this community, termed microbiome, are believed to provoke disease onset, including non-communicable diseases. In this review, we debate the current evidence on the role of the gut microbiome in the pathogenesis, outcomes and management of paediatric gut disease. We conclude that even though the gut microbiome is altered in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease, intestinal failure, necrotising enterocolitis and irritable bowel syndrome, there are currently very few implications for unravelling disease pathogenesis or guiding clinical practice. In the future, the gut microbiome may aid in disease differential diagnosis and prediction of clinical outcomes, and comprise a target for therapeutic interventions.

  • microbiology
  • gastroenterology

Data availability statement

Data sharing not applicable as no datasets generated and/or analysed for this study. No data are available. This is not applicable here.

https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2020-320875

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    Data availability statement

    Data sharing not applicable as no datasets generated and/or analysed for this study. No data are available. This is not applicable here.

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @vaiosvolos

    • Contributors KG is the guarantor, convened the author group and merged the individual sections to produce the final manuscript. All authors were involved in the preparation of this review article.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests CS declares performing consultancy for Astarte Medical and honoraria from Danone-Nutricia. KG declares research grants, honoraria, and consultancy fees from Danone-Nutricia, Nestle Heath Science, Abbott, Baxter and Mylan.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; externally peer reviewed.