FRECUENCIA DE LA INTOLERANCIA A LA LACTOSA Y SÍNDROME DE SOBRECRECIMIENTO BACTERIANO EN PACIENTES CON DISPEPSIA SIN SIGNOS DE ALARMA. ESTUDIO OBSERVACIONAL DESCRIPTIVO

Introduction The prevalence and incidence of patients in private practice, presenting with dyspeptic symptoms as a chief complaint, is increasing, so we propose to determine the etiology in each patient, determining, lactose intolerance (LI) and intestinal bacterial overgrowth syndrome (SIBO), as the highest in prevalence. The exhaled H2 test is a practical and accessible method and has been validated in numerous studies as a diagnostic method. Objectives To establish the frequency of lactose intolerance and bacterial overgrowth in patients with dyspepsia without alarm signs in the Gastroenterology González specialty center in the city of Cuenca-Ecuador. Methodology This is a descriptive observational study, cross-sectional, which collected data through documentary analysis (medical records) and H2 exhaled test applied to 310 individuals of both sexes with an average age of 50±17 years, in the period February 2019 to February 2020. Results Lactose intolerance was observed in 29% of cases, while intestinal bacterial overgrowth in 20.3%.. Conclusions Lactose intolerance as well as bacterial overgrowth syndrome (SIBO), are frequent syndromes occurring in private practice, and should therefore be taken into account, when investigating a patient with dyspeptic symptoms, and should not be ruled out before performing a diagnostic test such as the exhaled H2 test.