Probiotics in the intensive care unit: why controversies and confusion abound

Lee E Morrow¹ and Marin H Kollef²

¹Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Creighton University Medical Center, 601 North 30th Street, Suite #3820, Omaha, NE 68131, USA

²Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Washington University, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8052, St Louis, MO 63110, USA

author email corresponding author email

Critical Care 2008, 12:160doi:10.1186/cc6927


Published:	24 June 2008

See related research by Forestier et al., http://ccforum.com/content/12/3/R69

Abstract

Probiotics are living microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer health benefits on the host. Because probiotics are not marketed as pharmaceuticals, they are commercially available without rigorous scientific documentation of their efficacy for many health-related claims. Results from existing clinical trials are both confusing and controversial. The evidence base is relatively limited, includes studies with varied designs, assesses multiple probiotic preparations across discrepant disease states, and provides conflicting results. Recent advances in the delineation of probiotics' mechanisms of action offer the opportunity to construct a more logical framework within which future trials are designed.