Research
Probiotics' effects on the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia in critically ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- † Equal contributors
1 Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Shanghai Medical School of Fudan University, 221 Yananxi Road, Shanghai 200040, China
2 Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Medical School of Fudan University, 180 Fenglin Road, Shanghai 200032, China
3 Department of Anesthesia & Preoperative Care, University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco 94143, USA
Critical Care 2012, 16:R109 doi:10.1186/cc11398
See related letter by Silvestri et al., http://ccforum.com/content/16/6/453
Published: 25 June 2012Abstract
Introduction
To evaluate the efficacy of probiotics in preventing nosocomial pneumonia in critically ill patients.
Methods
We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Web of Science for relevant studies. Two reviewers extracted data and reviewed the quality of the studies independently. The primary outcome was the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia. Study-level data were pooled using a random-effects model when I2 was > 50% or a fixed-effects model when I2 was < 50%.
Results
Twelve randomized controlled studies with a total of 1,546 patients were considered. Pooled analysis showed a statistically significant reduction in nosocomial pneumonia rates due to probiotics (odd ratio [OR]= 0.75, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.97, P = 0.03, I2 = 46%). However, no statistically significant difference was found between groups regarding in-hospital mortality (OR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.50 to 1.74, P = 0.82, I2 = 51%), intensive care unit mortality (OR = 0.84, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.29, P = 0.43, I2 = 0%), duration of stay in the hospital (mean difference [MD] in days = -0.13, 95% CI -0.93 to 0.67, P = 0.75, I2 = 46%), or duration of stay in the intensive care units (MD = -0.72, 95% CI -1.73 to 0.29, P = 0.16, I2 = 68%).
Conclusions
The use of probiotics was associated with a statistically significant reduction in the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia in critically ill patients. However, large, well-designed, randomized, multi-center trials are needed to confirm any effects of probiotics clinical endpoints such as mortality and length of ICU and hospital stay.
