Early enteral nutrition with probiotics boosts nutritional status of stroke patients

Stroke patients benefit from the combination of early enteral nutrition (EEN) with probiotics, leading to lower rates of infections and gastrointestinal complications, as well as better nutritional profiles and clinical outcomes, reports a recent meta-analysis.

Drawing from the databases of Medline, Embase, PubMed, Cochrane, Wanfang, CNKI, SinoMed, and the Chinese Scientific Journal Database, researchers assessed 26 eligible randomized controlled trials, with a cumulative sample size of 2,216 patients.

Compared with stroke patients who received EEN alone, the combination of EEN with probiotics led to a significantly lower rate of gastrointestinal complications (odds ratio [OR], 0.29, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.24–0.36; p<0.00001), infections (OR, 0.27, 95 percent CI, 0.21–0.36; p<0.00001), and dysbacteriosis (OR, 0.17, 95 percent CI, 0.07–0.41; p<0.00001).

Length of hospital stay was likewise shorter in the EEN-probiotic group (mean difference [MD], –8.70 days, 95 percent CI, –13.24 to –4.16; p=0.003).

The combination of EEN with probiotics was also superior to EEN alone in terms of blood biomarkers, leading to a significantly lower level of diamine oxidase (MD, –0.78 U/L, 95 percent CI, –0.93 to –0.63; p<0.00001) and D-lactic acid (MD, –0.06 mmol/L, 95 percent CI, –0.07 to –0.05; p<0.00001).

Meanwhile, albumin (MD, 3.38 g/L, 95 percent CI, 2.74–4.02; p<0.00001), prealbumin (MD, 32.20 mg/L, 95 percent CI, 24.42–39.98; p<0.00001), and total protein (MD, 4.91 g/L, 95 percent CI, 3.20–6.62; p<0.00001) were all significantly better in the EEN-probiotic group. The same was true for immune indices, such as immunoglobulins A and G.