Probiotics stave off infection

Live bacteria can significantly reduce the chances of infection in pancreatitis patients, claim a team of researchers from Hungary and the UK.

In a study published in the British Journal of Surgery​, the researchers report that patients with acute pancreatitis who were given a supplement of lactobacillus and oat fibre, significantly reduced their chances of further infection.

The scientists from the department of surgery in Petz Aladar Teaching Hospital, Gyor, Hungary and University College London noted that microbial infection of the pancreatic tissue in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (severe inflammation of the pancreas) increases the morbidity and mortality rates.

They set out to determine whether lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus plantarum 299 could prevent colonisation of the gut by potential pathogens and thus reduce the endotoxaemia associated with acute pancreatitis.

In the study patients with acute pancreatitis were randomized into two double-blind groups. The treatment group (22 patients) received a freeze-dried preparation containing live L. plantarum 299 in a dose of 109 organisms, together with a substrate of oat fibre, for 1 week. The control group of 23 people received a similar preparation but the Lactobacillus was inactivated by heat.

Infected pancreatic necrosis and abscesses occurred in one of 22 patients in the treatment group, compared with seven of 23 in the control group. The mean length of stay was 13·7 days in the treatment group versus 21·4 days in the control group.

The authors conclude: "Supplementary L. plantarum 299 was effective in reducing pancreatic sepsis and the number of surgical interventions."​