Intervention effects and mechanism of glutamine on intestinal barrier function of patients with cirrhosis

Objective To investigate the impact of glutamine on intestinal barrier function of patients with cirrhosis. Methods Forty cases of patients with liver cirrhosis in our hospital from June 2011 to June 2012 were selected, and randomly divided into study group and control group according to the admission time, 20 cases in each group. Patients in control group were treated with liver protection, nutrition support, complications conventional treatment, the patients of study group were given L-glutamine treatment for eight weeks on the basis of control group. Small intestinal mucosa permeability changes were observed before and after treatment, and the incidence of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis were observed too. Results After the treatment, the small intestinal mucosa permeability (L/M) of study group was significantly lower than before, the difference was statistically significant (P 0.05), and the L/M was lower than that of control group (P 0.05); the incidence of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis of study group was significantly lower than that of control group (P 0.05). Conclusion Glutamine can enhance intestinal barrier function in cirrhotic patients, reduce intestinal bacterial translocation, and reduce the occurrence of intra-abdominal infections and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.