OBJECTIVETo investigate the changes and clinical significance of biomarker fecal bile acids (BA) in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP).

METHODSNineteen children with HSP and twenty-seven healthy children were enrolled in this study. The stool samples were obtained at the acute and remission phases. Fecal BA levels were measured by high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS).

RESULTSThe fecal cholic acid level in the HSP remission group was significantly higher than in the HSP acute group and the healthy control group (P<0.016). The fecal chenodeoxycholic acid level in the HSP remission group was significantly higher than in the healthy control group (P<0.016). The levels of fecal secondary colonic bile acids, deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid, in the HSP acute and remission groups were significantly lower than in the healthy control group(P<0.05, P<0.016 respectively). No significant differences were found in the levels of fecal urosodeoxycholic acid among the three groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSFecal secondary colonic bile acids, deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid, are in decrease in children with HSP at the acute stage, which may be involved in the pathogenesis and treatment outcomes of HSP.