Acute pancreatitis is associated with gut dysbiosis in children

Background: Pediatric acute pancreatitis (AP) is associated with significant morbidity. Therefore, improved understanding of children who will develop severe AP is critical. Adult studies have reported AP associated gut dysbiosis, but pediatric studies are lacking. Aims: Assess stool microbial taxonomic and functional profiles of children with first attack of AP compared to those of healthy controls (HC), and between mild and severe AP Methods: Children under 21 years hospitalized at a tertiary center (n = 30) with first AP attack were recruited including HC (n = 34) from same region. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was performed on extracted DNA. Results: Demographics were similar between AP and HC. Alpha diversity (−0.68 ± 0.13, p-value < 0.001), and beta-diversity (R²=0.13, p-value < 0.001) differed, in children with AP compared to HC. Species including R.gnavus, V.parvula, E.faecalis, C.innocuum were enriched in AP. MetaCyc pathways involved in amino acid metabolism and fatty acid beta-oxidation were enriched in AP. Beta-diversity (R²=0.06, p-value = 0.02) differed for severe AP compared to mild AP with enrichment in E.faecalis and C.citroniae. Conclusions: Gut dysbiosis occurs in pediatric AP and is associated with AP severity. A multicenter study confirming these findings could pave way for interventional trials manipulating the gut microbiome to mitigate AP severity.