Study of the Intestinal Microbiota

New research data have so far failed to find concrete resonance in intensive care patients, even though this highly stressed population is subjected to harmful pressure on the microbiota: antibiotics, gastric acid inhibitors, artificial nutrition, and sedative drugs that inhibit peristalsis. Studies remain conflicting, and this lack of evidence limits the development of targeted therapies for intensive care patients. The reason lies in the fact that there is no such thing as "one" intensive care patient, but rather different profiles depending on the type and level of stress, whether or not there is a surgical insult, the route of artificial nutrition administration, and the duration of antibiotic therapy. It is therefore necessary to conduct a comprehensive assessment. This essential preliminary information will ultimately aid in the development of targeted therapies designed to restore the microbiota and hopefully improve patient prognosis. This NEUROBIOTE study is part of this research framework and aims to explore the microbiota of a homogeneous category of patients: those admitted to surgical or neurosurgical intensive care for brain injury, whether traumatic or not, and for serious brain injury (i.e., requiring intubation). During the first phase of the study, the microbiota mapping of these patients, obtained after analysis of admission stools by rectal swab, was compared with that of a "control" group: patients admitted to surgical intensive care for multiple trauma without associated brain injury or for any state of shock requiring mechanical ventilation. During the second phase, changes in the microbiota of the "brain-injured patients" group during the first week of care, in light of the evolution of various factors: nutritional support, energy metabolism using indirect calorimetry, and markers of organ failure, will be analyzed.

This pilot study will lay the groundwork for those aiming to study other specific ICU populations.

Inclusion criteria

Brain-injured patient group: Any adult patient admitted to neurosurgical or surgical intensive care for severe brain injury, traumatic or not, requiring intubation, eligible for indirect calorimetry measurements, and whose expected length of stay is > 48 hours.

Control group: Any adult patient admitted to surgical intensive care for multiple trauma without associated brain injury and/or for shock (hemorrhagic or septic*) and whose expected length of stay is > 48 hours.

Exclusion criteria

• Refusal to participate in the study (request of non-opposition from relatives if the patient is unfit)
• Lack of social security affiliation;
• Minor patient;
• Patient under legal protection (guardianship or guardianship);
• Pregnant woman;
• Moribund patient or whose expected length of stay is ≤ 48 hours;
• Contraindication to indirect calorimetry (high FiO2, etc.);