CFH1b Research - A feasibility study to discover if the community of microbes in our guts is affected by the way we receive antibiotics

Millions of microbes ('bugs') live in our gut. Collectively, the 'gut microbiome' helps us digest food and stay well. Some can cause harm if the ‘balance’ of their numbers is altered. We can study these microbes by extracting their DNA from stool samples. Many studies have shown that antibiotics profoundly affect the gut microbiome, causing changes that can influence health. Other studies have shown that we breathe out compounds that our body has metabolised under the influence of our gut microbiome. Fewer changes occur in the mouse gut microbiome when mice were treated with intravenous compared to oral antibiotics. If also true in humans, this may change patient care. We are collecting stool and breath samples from patient-participants before, during and after antibiotic therapy for a 'feasibility' study to determine whether a larger study is appropriate. Future work would include looking at how, why, and to what extent such changes might occur and possible impacts on human breath metabolites.