Good germs fight bad germs in hospital trial

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Good germs fight bad germs in hospital

Thu Nov 6, 2008 1:40am EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - " Good " germs may work as well as antiseptics

in protecting hospital patients from dangerous infections, Swedish

researchers reported on Wednesday.

Patients swabbed with probiotic bacteria called Lactobacillus

plantarum 299 escaped infection as well as those cleaned up using the

antiseptic chlorhexidine, they reported. Both approaches worked

equally well in preventing pneumonia among 50 critically ill patients

using ventilators, Bengt Klarin of University Hospital in Lund,

Sweden, and colleagues found. Ventilator-associated pneumonia is

common as patients aspirate germs from the equipment -- often

bacteria that have formed drug-resistant mats called biofilms.

Klarin's team tested the idea that probiotic bacteria could out-

compete pathogenic bacteria. Half the patients were swabbed with

chlorhexidine as usual, and half were given a final wipe with L.

plantarum 299 instead.

" We hypothesized that swabbing the mouth with probiotics would be an

effective (and microbiologically attractive) method of reducing

pathogenic oral microorganisms in intubated, mechanically ventilated,

critically ill patients, " Klarin said in a statement.

Writing in the BioMed Central journal Critical Care, they noted that

L. plantarum is normally found in saliva and in pickled food such as

sauerkraut.

" Based on the results of this pilot study, we conclude that the

probiotic bacterium Lp299 constitutes a feasible and safe agent for

oral care, " they wrote in the study, available on the Internet at

ccforum.com/.

http://www.reuters.com/article/email/idUSTRE4A502320081106

(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Steenhuysen and Xavier

d)