Abstract
Long COVID refers to patients with symptoms as fatigue, “brain fog,” pain, suggesting the chronic involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) in COVID-19. The supplementation with probiotic (OB) would have a positive effect on metabolic homeostasis, negatively impacting the occurrence of symptoms related to the CNS after hospital discharge. On a total of 58 patients hospitalized for COVID-19, 24 (41.4%) received OB during hospitalization (OB+) while 34 (58.6%) taken only the standard treatment (OB–). Serum metabolomic profiling of patients has been performed at both hospital acceptance (T0) and discharge (T1). Six months after discharge, fatigue perceived by participants was assessed by administrating the Fatigue Assessment Scale. 70.7% of participants reported fatigue while 29.3% were negative for such condition. The OB+ group showed a significantly lower proportion of subjects reporting fatigue than the OB– one (p < 0.01). Furthermore, OB+ subjects were characterized by significantly increased concentrations of serum Arginine, Asparagine, Lactate opposite to lower levels of 3-Hydroxyisobutirate than those not treated with probiotics. Our results strongly suggest that in COVID-19, the administration of probiotics during hospitalization may prevent the development of chronic fatigue by impacting key metabolites involved in the utilization of glucose as well as in energy pathways.
Highlights
Since its inception, COVID-19 immediately proved to be an aggressive respiratory syndrome capable of degenerating into pneumonia, ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome), multiorgan failure, and death
No statistically significant differences were determined between the oral bacteriotherapy (OB)+ and OB– groups with respect to all clinical characteristics and therapeutic regimens
In order to minimize the possible biases between the two groups, we evaluated our data after removing the patients hospitalized in ICU from both groups (OB– and OB+)
Summary
COVID-19 immediately proved to be an aggressive respiratory syndrome capable of degenerating into pneumonia, ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome), multiorgan failure, and death. Nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting are clinically evident in about 50% of COVID-19 patients [6]. These medical signs and symptoms are more frequent in the virus infected individuals with an altered microbiome due to pre-existing conditions such as chronic diseases, inflammation, drug treatments, and age [7]. Opportunistic pathogens (e.g., Streptococcus, Rothia, and Actinomyces) are higher [9, 10]. These changes may persist after respiratory symptoms resolution and usually correlate with COVID-19 severity [10]
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