Nivia Cárdenas, Virginia Martín, Rebeca Arroyo, Mario López, Marta Carrera, Carlos Badiola, Esther Jiménez, Juan M Rodríguez
Journal: Nutrients 2019;11(2):376
PMID: 30759799
20–30% of infants suffer from recurrent acute otitis media (rAOM) which is usually treated with antibiotics, leading to increasing antimicrobial resistance rates. A bacterial strain, Lactobacillus salivarius PS7, was identified and characterised by in vitro studies which showed antimicrobial activity against most of otitis-related organisms. It was shown to be safe in rat toxicity studies. The investigators then carried out this prospective pilot study to test the efficacy and safety of L. Salivarius PS7 in infants and children with rAOM. 61 subjects completed the study and received the probiotic for the duration of 6 months. Oral intakes of L. salivarius PS7 over 6 months led to a statistically significant reduction (84%) in the number of episodes of AOM in comparison to those observed in the same children during the 6 months preceding probiotic intake. When AOM occurred, the duration of AOM episodes was shorter than in control children not receiving the probiotic. Ear samples showed that the probiotic treatment led to a statistically significant decrease in potential otopathogens. Limitations of this preliminary “proof of concept” trial were lack of placebo group and randomisation.
Acute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most common bacterial infections in children. Empiric antibiotherapy leads to increasing antimicrobial resistance rates among otopathogens and may impair the correct development of the microbiota in early life. In this context, probiotics seem to be an attractive approach for preventing recurrent AOM (rAOM) through the restoration of the middle ear and nasopharyngeal microbiota. The aim of this study was the selection of a probiotic strain ( PS7), specifically tailored for its antagonism against otopathogens. Since PS7 was safe and displayed a strong antimicrobial activity against otopathogens, its efficacy in preventing rAOM was assessed in a trial involving 61 children suffering from rAOM. Children consumed daily ~1 × 10⁸ CFU of PS7, and the number of AOM episodes were registered and compared with that observed in the previous 6 and 12 months. The microbiota of samples collected from the external auditory canal samples was quantitatively and qualitatively assessed. The number of AOM episodes during the intervention period decreased significantly (84%) when compared to that reported during the 6 months period before the probiotic intervention. In conclusion, PS7 is a promising strain for the prevention of rAOM in infants and children.
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