Early enteral nutrition supplemented with probiotics improved the clinical outcomes in severe head injury: Some promising findings from Chinese patients

Probiotics for Infection Prevention in Critically Ill and Trauma Patients: A Concise Review

BACKGROUND

Critically ill trauma patients are at an increased risk for infection, which can increase morbidity and mortality. The use of probiotic preparations for infection prevention is promising, yet the results of their effectiveness are mixed.

OBJECTIVES

To synthesize current research regarding the use of probiotics to prevent and possibly treat infection in the critically ill adult trauma population.

METHODS

RESULTS

CONCLUSION

Upon reviewing the current body of evidence, one cannot definitively conclude that probiotic supplementation in the critically-ill trauma population decreases health care-associated infection rates and improves outcomes, but most published evidence supports their use.

Benefits and harm of probiotics and synbiotics in adult critically ill patients. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials with trial sequential analysis

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Several systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials concluded that probiotics administration in critically ill patients was safe and associated with reduced rates of ventilator-associated pneumonia and diarrhea. However, a recent large multicenter trial found probiotics administration, compared to placebo, was not efficacious and increased adverse events. An updated meta-analysis that controls for type-1 and -2 errors using trial sequential analysis, with a detailed account of adverse events associated with probiotic administration, is warranted to confirm the safety and efficacy of probiotic use in critically ill patients.

METHODS

RCTs that compared probiotics or synbiotics to usual care or placebo and reported clinical and diarrheal outcomes were searched in 4 electronic databases from inception to March 8, 2022 without language restriction. Four reviewers independently extracted data and assessed the study qualities using the Critical Care Nutrition (CCN) Methodological Quality Scoring System. Random-effect meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis (TSA) were used to synthesize the results. The primary outcome was ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The main subgroup analysis compared the effects of higher versus lower quality studies (based on median CCN score).

RESULTS

Seventy-five studies with 71 unique trials (n = 8551) were included. In the overall analysis, probiotics significantly reduced VAP incidence (risk ratio [RR] 0.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.56-0.88; I² = 65%; 16 studies). However, such benefits were demonstrated only in lower (RR 0.47, 95% CI 0.32, 0.69; I² = 44%; 7 studies) but not higher quality studies (RR 0.89, 95% CI 0.73, 1.08; I² = 43%; 9 studies), with significant test for subgroup differences (p = 0.004). Additionally, TSA showed that the VAP benefits of probiotics in the overall and subgroup analyses were type-1 errors. In higher quality trials, TSA found that future trials are unlikely to demonstrate any benefits of probiotics on infectious complications and diarrhea. Probiotics had higher adverse events than control (pooled risk difference: 0.01, 95% CI 0.01, 0.02; I² = 0%; 22 studies).

CONCLUSION

High-quality RCTs did not support a beneficial effect of probiotics on clinical or diarrheal outcomes in critically ill patients. Given the lack of benefits and the increased incidence of adverse events, probiotics should not be routinely administered to critically ill patients.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION

CRD42022302278.

Gut microbiome and neurosurgery: Implications for treatment

Introduction

The aim of this review is to summarize the current understanding of the gut-brain axis (GBA), its impact on neurosurgery, and its implications for future treatment.

Background

An abundance of research has established the existence of a collection of pathways between the gut microbiome and the central nervous system (CNS), commonly known as the GBA. Complicating this relationship, the gut microbiome bacterial diversity appears to change with age, antibiotic exposure and a number of external and internal factors.

Methods

In this paper, we present the current understanding of the key protective and deleterious roles the gut microbiome plays in the pathogenesis of several common neurosurgical concerns.

Results

Specifically, we examine how spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury and stroke may cause gut microbial dysbiosis. Furthermore, this link appears to be bidirectional as gut dysbiosis contributes to secondary CNS injury in each of these ailment settings. This toxic cycle may be broken, and the future secondary damage rescued by timely, therapeutic, gut microbiome modification. In addition, a robust gut microbiome appears to improve outcomes in brain tumour treatment. There are several primary routes by which microbiome dysbiosis may be ameliorated, including faecal microbiota transplant, oral probiotics, bacteriophages, genetic modification of gut microbiota and vagus nerve stimulation.

Conclusion

The GBA represents an important component of patient care in the field of neurosurgery. Future research may illuminate ideal methods of therapeutic microbiome modulation in distinct pathogenic settings.

Effect of early enteral nutrition combined with probiotics in patients with stroke: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

Whether to conduct early enteral nutrition combined with probiotics (EEN/probiotics) in stroke patients remains controversial. This study was aimed to systematically explore the efficacy and safety of EEN/probiotics in stroke patients.

SUBJECT/METHODS

We performed searches in EMBASE, PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedicine Literature Database (SinoMed), Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang database.

RESULTS

A total of 26 randomized controlled trials (2216 patients) were included. Meta-analysis showed a significantly lower incidence of gastrointestinal complications (%) (OR, 0.29; 95% CI,0.24-0.36; P < 0.00001), a lower incidence of infection (%) (OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.21-0.36; P < 0.00001), a shorter length of hospital stay (d) (MD, -8.70; 95% CI, -13.24 to -4.16; P = 0.003), and a lower dysbacteriosis rate (%) (OR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.07-0.41; P < 0.0001) in the EEN/probiotics group than EEN group. Compared with EEN group, EEN/probiotics group had lower levels of diamine oxidase (U/L) (MD, -0.78; 95% CI, -0.93 to -0.63; P < 0.00001), D-lactic acid (mmol/L) (MD, -0.06; 95% CI, -0.07 to -0.05; P < 0.00001) and higher levels of albumin (g/L) (MD, 3.38; 95% CI, 2.74-4.02; P < 0.00001), prealbumin (mg/L) (MD, 32.20; 95% CI, 24.42-39.98; P < 0.00001), total protein (g/L) (MD, 4.91; 95% CI, 3.20-6.62; P < 0.00001), hemoglobin (g/L) (MD, 9.62; 95% CI, 7.92-11.32; P < 0.00001), immunoglobulin A (g/L) (MD, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.12-0.34; P < 0.0001) and immunoglobulin G (g/L) (MD, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.21-0.45; P < 0.00001).

CONCLUSION

Early enteral nutrition combined with probiotics may effectively improve the nutritional status of stroke patients, regulate the intestinal flora and intestinal mucosal barrier function, improve the immune function, reduce the incidence of infectious complications and gastrointestinal motility disorders.

Rebuilding Microbiome for Mitigating Traumatic Brain Injury: Importance of Restructuring the Gut-Microbiome-Brain Axis

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a damage to the brain from an external force that results in temporary or permanent impairment in brain functions. Unfortunately, not many treatment options are available to TBI patients. Therefore, knowledge of the complex interplay between gut microbiome (GM) and brain health may shed novel insights as it is a rapidly expanding field of research around the world. Recent studies show that GM plays important roles in shaping neurogenerative processes such as blood-brain-barrier (BBB), myelination, neurogenesis, and microglial maturation. In addition, GM is also known to modulate many aspects of neurological behavior and cognition; however, not much is known about the role of GM in brain injuries. Since GM has been shown to improve cellular and molecular functions via mitigating TBI-induced pathologies such as BBB permeability, neuroinflammation, astroglia activation, and mitochondrial dysfunction, herein we discuss how a dysbiotic gut environment, which in fact, contributes to central nervous system (CNS) disorders during brain injury and how to potentially ward off these harmful effects. We further opine that a better understanding of GM-brain (GMB) axis could help assist in designing better treatment and management strategies in future for the patients who are faced with limited options.

Probiotics and Coronavirus disease 2019: think about the link

The pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly progressing, causing significant morbidity and mortality. Various antiviral drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs and immunomodulators have been tried without substantial clinical benefits. The severe and critical cases of COVID-19 disease are characterised by gut microbiome dysbiosis, immune dysregulation, hyper-inflammation and hypercytokinaemia (cytokine storm). Therefore, the strategies which target these pathophysiological processes may be beneficial. Probiotics are one such strategy that exerts beneficial effects by manipulation of the gut microbiota, suppression of opportunistic pathogens in the gut, decreasing translocation of opportunistic organisms, activation of mucosal immunity and modulation of the innate and adaptive immune response. Probiotics are the potential candidates to be tested in moderate and severe cases of COVID-19 due to several beneficial effects, including easy availability, easy to administer, safe and economical to use.