1188 The Effects of Probiotics on Parenteral Nutrition-Related Complications: A Prescriber’s Dilemma

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Parenteral nutrition (PN) is a life-saving modality that carries risks for potentially life-threatening complications. The gut microbiome, which is often impaired in patients receiving PN, plays an integral role in intestinal wall integrity and immune function. Hence, restoration of a healthy microbiome may theoretically protect against various infections. Therefore, we aimed in our study to investigate the effect of probiotics on parenteral nutrition-related infectious complications. METHODS: We identified a cohort of patients with intestinal failure who received PN for >2 weeks at our center for human nutrition between January 2005 and August 2016. We excluded patients < 18 years of age, patients who used probiotics for < 30 days, and those who had long-term antibiotic use ( >30 days). Seventy-eight patient received probiotics, among them, 48% used it for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) treatment, 42% for SIBO prophylaxis in high-risk patients (history of recurrent SIBO, resection of the ileocecal valve, and surgically created blind loops), and 10% of the patients used non-prescription over-the-counter probiotics. Patients characteristics and other variables were determined by manual chart review. RESULTS: A total of 282 patients who received prolonged parenteral support were included. Eighty-five percent of our sample received PN, while the remaining received intravenous fluids (IVF). A total of 78 (27.7%) patients used probiotics. (Table 1) One hundred and six (37.6%) patients were diagnosed with SIBO, 31(11%) patients had at least one episode of catheter-related infection, and 88(31.2%) patients had at least one documented episode of sepsis. The prevalence of SIBO in patients who used prophylactic probiotic was 22 % vs. 30 % in patients who did not use probiotics, P = 0.5. Compared to non-users, the prevalence of sepsis and catheter-related infection among probiotics users were (26.9% vs. 32.8%; P = 0.33 and 7.7% vs. 12.3%; P = 0.27, respectively) (Figure 1) CONCLUSION: Although there was a non-significant trend toward less SIBO, sepsis and catheter-related infections among patients using probiotics, our findings don’t support the routine use of probiotics to prevent or treat PN-related complications. Interestingly, this study revealed-despite the lack of evidence- a quarter of our included patients received a medical prescription for probiotics to prevent or treat SIBO.