TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparing the rates of methane production in patients with and without appendectomy
T2 - results from a large-scale cohort
AU - Takakura, Will
AU - Oh, Sun Jung
AU - Singer-Englar, Tahli
AU - Mirocha, James
AU - Leite, Gabriela
AU - Fridman, Adie
AU - Pimentel, Mark
AU - Mathur, Ruchi
AU - Pichetshote, Nipaporn
AU - Rezaie, Ali
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
PY - 2020/12/1
Y1 - 2020/12/1
N2 - There is no clear study identifying the microbiome of the appendix. However, in other diverticular conditions, such as diverticulosis, methanogens appear important. We investigated whether patients who had undergone appendectomies had decreased levels of exhaled methane (CH4). Consecutive patients who underwent breath testing (BT) from November 2005 to October 2013 were deterministically linked to electronic health records. The numbers of patients with CH4 ≥ 1 ppm (detectable) and ≥ 3 and ≥ 10 ppm (excess) were compared between patients who did and did not undergo appendectomy using a multivariable model adjusted for age and sex. Of the 4977 included patients (48.0 ± 18.4 years, 30.1% male), 1303 (26.2%) had CH4 ≥ 10 ppm, and 193 (3.9%) had undergone appendectomy. Appendectomy was associated with decreased odds of CH4 ≥ 1, ≥ 3, and ≥ 10 ppm (ORs (95% CI) = 0.67 (0.47–0.93), p = 0.02; 0.65 (0.46–0.92), p = 0.01; and 0.66 (0.46–0.93), p = 0.02, respectively). Additionally, the percentage of CH4 producers increased 4-fold from the first to ninth decade of life. This is the first study to report that appendectomy is associated with decreased exhaled CH4. The appendix may play an active physiologic role as a reservoir of methanogens.
AB - There is no clear study identifying the microbiome of the appendix. However, in other diverticular conditions, such as diverticulosis, methanogens appear important. We investigated whether patients who had undergone appendectomies had decreased levels of exhaled methane (CH4). Consecutive patients who underwent breath testing (BT) from November 2005 to October 2013 were deterministically linked to electronic health records. The numbers of patients with CH4 ≥ 1 ppm (detectable) and ≥ 3 and ≥ 10 ppm (excess) were compared between patients who did and did not undergo appendectomy using a multivariable model adjusted for age and sex. Of the 4977 included patients (48.0 ± 18.4 years, 30.1% male), 1303 (26.2%) had CH4 ≥ 10 ppm, and 193 (3.9%) had undergone appendectomy. Appendectomy was associated with decreased odds of CH4 ≥ 1, ≥ 3, and ≥ 10 ppm (ORs (95% CI) = 0.67 (0.47–0.93), p = 0.02; 0.65 (0.46–0.92), p = 0.01; and 0.66 (0.46–0.93), p = 0.02, respectively). Additionally, the percentage of CH4 producers increased 4-fold from the first to ninth decade of life. This is the first study to report that appendectomy is associated with decreased exhaled CH4. The appendix may play an active physiologic role as a reservoir of methanogens.
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U2 - 10.1038/s41598-020-57662-y
DO - 10.1038/s41598-020-57662-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 31964997
AN - SCOPUS:85078096176
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 10
JO - Scientific reports
JF - Scientific reports
IS - 1
M1 - 867
ER -