Prospective evaluation of lactose malabsorption by lactose hydrogen breath test in individuals infected with Entamoeba histolytica and passing cysts

The aim of the present prospective study was to detect lactose malabsorption in subjects in northern India infected with Entamoeba histolytica and passing cysts. The study group included forty-one patients with E. histolytica cysts in at least one of three consecutive faecal samples. Lactose malabsorption was detected by a lactose H2 breath test. The results were compared with those of forty controls subjects. Thirty-two of forty-one (78·0 %) subjects passing E. histolytica cysts had lactose malabsorbtion compared with seventeen of forty (42·5 %) control subjects (P<0·01). In conclusion, the present study shows that lactose malabsorption is significantly more common in individuals infected with E. histolytica and passing cysts compared with control subjects.