The Use of Probiotics to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in Adults

Authors

Michael RoperFollow
Paige DouthettFollow

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Course Instructor

Dr. Abby Massey

Capstone Semester

Fall 2019

Date of Graduation

12-13-2019

Abstract

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of preventing the acquisition of ventilator- associated pneumonia with the use of probiotic supplementation, as compared to a placebo, among hospitalized adult men and women receiving more than 24 hours of mechanical ventilation. Design: Systematic Literature Review. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted through PubMed and Scopus using the search terms “ventilator”, “probiotics”, and “prevention”. Records were excluded from the analysis if they were published before 2015, full text was not available, studies other than randomized control trial or cohort studies, and if the study population was less than 18 years old. Results: Of the four studies, only one had statistically significant findings. In the study, incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) was reduced in the probiotic group, probability of remaining VAP-free was significantly higher in the probiotic group, and mean time of onset of VAP after endotracheal intubation was significantly longer in the probiotics group. Conclusion: Probiotics are generally safe to administer and may aid in the immune response of the host; however more research and well-designed studies are needed to definitively determine the effectiveness of probiotics in the prevention of VAP in hospitalized mechanically ventilated patients.

Document Type

Capstone

Recommended Citation

Douthett, PC, Roper, MW. The Use of Probiotics to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in Adults. JMU Scholarly Commons Physician Assistant Capstones. http://commons.lib.jmu.edu/pacapstones/##/. Published December 11, 2019.