Abstract | BACKGROUND: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of the multispecies probiotic VSL#3 in reducing the mean number of episodes of liquid stool in enterally fed critically ill patients. METHODS: A single-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study was done in a 6-bed intensive care unit in a 330-bed public hospital in Australia. A total of 45 adults (20 intervention, 25 control) who required enteral nutrition for more than 72 hours were given VSL#3 or a placebo twice daily. The frequency (mean number of episodes per patient per day) and weight (grams per day) were determined for both liquid stool and liquid and loose (unformed) stool. RESULTS: The 2 groups of patients had no demographic or clinical differences. Patients received enteral nutrition for a mean of 8.5 days (SD, 5.4) and were studied for a mean of 11.9 days (SD, 5.6). Compared with the control group, the intervention group had a significant reduction in the frequency of liquid stools (incidence rate ratio, 0.50; 95% confidence interval, 0.27 to 0.93; P = .03). Smaller but still significant differences also occurred between the groups in both the frequency of episodes and the weight of liquid and loose (unformed) stool. CONCLUSION:
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Authors | Terence J Frohmader, Wendy P Chaboyer, Iain K Robertson, John Gowardman |
Journal | American journal of critical care : an official publication, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
(Am J Crit Care)
Vol. 19
Issue 3
Pg. e1-11
(May 2010)
ISSN: 1937-710X [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 20436058
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
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Topics |
- Aged
- Australia
(epidemiology)
- Bifidobacterium
- Critical Illness
- Diarrhea
(epidemiology, prevention & control)
- Double-Blind Method
- Enteral Nutrition
- Female
- Humans
- Incidence
- Lactobacillus
- Lactobacillus acidophilus
- Lacticaseibacillus casei
- Lactobacillus plantarum
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Pilot Projects
- Probiotics
(administration & dosage)
- Streptococcus thermophilus
- Treatment Outcome
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