July 30, 2025
Small-Intestinal Microbiota in Acute Pancreatitis: Bacteria as Markers of Disease Severity
A study of patients with acute pancreatitis found an association between jejunal microbiota composition and disease severity.
The small-intestinal microbiota is less studied than the colonic microbiota because samples are more difficult to collect and process. Russian researchers examined the small-intestinal microbial community in acute pancreatitis.
Study design
The study included 30 patients with acute pancreatitis of varying severity who were treated between 2019 and 2021. Microbiota was characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequencing of jejunal samples. The mortality rate in the cohort was 23.3%.
What the researchers found
Streptococci were predominant (median relative abundance: 19.2%), followed by Veillonella, Granulicatella, Fusobacterium, Prevotella, Haemophilus, Gemella, and Lactobacillus. More severe disease was associated with lower levels of Neisseria mucosa, Parvimonas micra, and Megasphaera micronuciformis, and higher levels of certain streptococci, Actinomyces, and members of the Enterobacteriaceae family.
Authors’ conclusion
Small-intestinal microbiota composition was associated with measures of disease severity and with the time between the onset of pain and receiving qualified inpatient care.
Source: Kiselev V. V. et al. Diagnostics, 2025, 15(15), 1911.
