Changes of Oropharyngeal Flora

When patients are admitted to hospital some of them are already colonized in the oropharynx with pathogens that are normally found as commensal or possible pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract. This is probably a consequence of the illness that is the cause of their hospital admission.

Most patients admitted to hospital are elderly. Those patients often have their natural functions down regulated including their ability to secure their airway from aspiration. Acute illness whether you are old or young leads to changes in the intestinal microbiological flora. Bacteria normally found in the colon or distal ileum frequently appear in the stomach and more alarming in the oropharynx. Weakened by the illness, acute or chronic, there is an increased risk of aspiration and when there are pathogenic bacteria in the oropharynx, aspiration is likely to induce pneumonia - health related pneumonia.

For intubated ICU patients we have demonstrated a reduction of colonization with enteric bacteria by applying probiotics in the mouth.

After a screening period to find out what groups of patients that are most vulnerable, we will in a randomised way give probiotics to half of the included patients and to the other patients only the filling material (maltodextrin).

With this procedure our aim is to show a reduction of pathogens in the oropharynx and as a secondary outcome we hope to see a reduction of pneumonia.

Samples for microbiological analysis will be taken during the first day of admission to hospital and then at specified intervals.

Inclusion criteria

• Admitted to hospital
• Anticipated length of hospital stay 3 days or more

Exclusion criteria

• Immune insufficiency
• Prior participation in the study
• Not being able to understand study information