Rectal Bleeding in Infancy: Clinical, Allergological, and Microbiological Examination

Abstract

Rectal bleeding in infants is generally a benign and self-limiting disorder. Bloody stools occurred irregularly for only a few days during the following months. As in a previous report, most infants were exclusively breastfed. In the majority of the patients the cause of the condition remains unknown. An association with viruses can be seen in some patients. The microbes that commonly lead to bloody diarrhea in older children and adults, Salmonella, Shigella, and Yersinia, were absent in the present material. The low bifidobacterial numbers in fecal samples may indicate a significant aberrance that may provide a target for probiotic intervention to normalize gut microbiota. The gut microbiota overall seemed stable, because the numbers of major groups of microbiota tested did not change significantly between the time of admission and after 1 month. Cow's milk allergy among these patients is more uncommon than previously believed. Cow's milk challenge is thus essential in infants who become symptom-free during a cow's milk-free diet to reduce the number of false-positive cow's milk-allergy diagnoses.

Per Rectal Bleeding in Children: Experiences in the Department of Paediatric Surgery in BSMMU

“…27 In another case-control study, Arvola and coworkers reported that loose and mucous stools, abdominal pain, and vomiting were frequently detected in those children with per rectal bleeding. 8 In this study, loose stool, constipation, something coming out per rectally during defecation which spontaneously go within the anal canal and in some cases pain during defecation were the most common symptoms that accompanied bleeding per rectum.…”

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that per rectal bleeding in most infants and children is a benign and self-limiting condition usually requiring no treatment or one that can be managed by supportive care. [7][8][9] The fact that a aetiologies of pediatric per rectal bleeding vary among different geographical regions and ethnic groups necessitate the investigation of the epidemiology and characteristics of this disorder in each region.…”

“…The aetiologies of per rectal bleeding in our series varied significantly with previous per rectal bleeding reports. 7,8,10,11 Most previous reports have shown that constipation with fissure formation was the most common cause for per rectal bleeding in toddlers and school-age children. 7,8,11 Hillemeier and coworkers demonstrated that anal fissure and infectious diarrhea were the most common causes of per rectal bleeding in neonates, toddlers and schoolage children.…”

Isolation of Bifidobacteria from Breast Milk and Assessment of the Bifidobacterial Population by PCR-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis and Quantitative Real-Time PCR

“…In this location, they may contribute to the maturation of the gut barrier and the gut-associated lymphoid tissue. Some studies have suggested that infants with delayed bifidobacterial colonization and/or decreased bifidobacterial numbers may be more susceptible to a variety of gastrointestinal or allergic conditions (1,16) and that, in these cases, the exogenous administration of selected bifidobacterial strains, alone or in combination with lactic acid bacteria, can reduce the incidence of such conditions (5,13,27,33).…”

Gastrointestinal food allergy in Ghanaian children: a case series

“…However in the developing gastrointestinal tract, these antigens may induce inflammatory response which may manifest as allergic phenomenon. 10 Exposure to an increased diversity of foods in early life is inversely associated with allergic diseases including food allergy.…”