Marc Gh Besselink, Hjalmar C van Santvoort, Erik Buskens, Marja A Boermeester, Harry van Goor, Harro M Timmerman, Vincent B Nieuwenhuijs, Thomas L Bollen, Bert van Ramshorst, Ben Jm Witteman, Camiel Rosman, Rutger J Ploeg, Menno A Brink, Alexander Fm Schaapherder, Cornelis Hc Dejong, Peter J Wahab, Cees Jhm van Laarhoven, Erwin van der Harst, Casper Hj van Eijck, Miguel A Cuesta, Louis Ma Akkermans, Hein G Gooszen
BACKGROUND: Infectious complications and associated mortality are a major concern in acute pancreatitis. Enteral administration of probiotics could prevent infectious complications, but convincing evidence is scarce. Our aim was to assess the effects of probiotic prophylaxis in patients with predicted severe acute pancreatitis. METHODS: In this multicentre randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 298 patients with predicted severe acute pancreatitis (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation [APACHE II] score > or =8, Imrie score > or =3, or C-reactive protein >150 mg/L) were randomly assigned within 72 h of onset of symptoms to receive a multispecies probiotic preparation (n=153) or placebo (n=145), administered enterally twice daily for 28 days...
February 23, 2008: Lancet