by An elderly man in Japan developed a fatal bacterial infection after taking a probiotic as part of his treatment for severe COVID-19.
The unidentified patient was first brought to the emergency room after being found on the floor of his home. He had a history of colon cancer, chest pain, high blood pressure and pancreatic cysts. He was an active smoker and drinker of alcohol at the time of his illness.
Emergency room doctors learned the man had COVID-19. They treated him with a corticosteroid, dexamethasone, and an immunosuppressant drug, tocilizumab.
His breathing improved, but he developed diarrhea because of the medication. He was given a strain of the bacteria Clostridium butyricum, called C. butyricum MIYAIRI 588. Available in tablet form, CBM 588 is commonly used in Japan to treat diarrhea.
The tablets, prescribed to humans for a month, have been “widely used as probiotics for diarrhea in Japan and are also known to improve symptoms of C. difficile.” [bacterial] “Infection and irritable bowel syndrome,” researchers from Fujita Health University Hospital wrote last week in BMJ Case Reports.
CBM 588 capsules cannot be purchased in US stores, but can be purchased online. The drug is being tested on patients with advanced kidney cancer at City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, California.
On the 33rd day of his hospital stay, the Japanese man was able to leave the intensive care unit. About 25 days later, he began to experience persistent stomach pain.
He quickly developed multiple organ failure and died. He had been admitted to hospital about two months earlier.
He had suffered from C. butyricum bacteremia, when bacteria circulate in the bloodstream, following taking the probiotic, and non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia, or NOMI, characterized by reduced intestinal blood flow.
“Although probiotics are routinely prescribed [to] “In sick patients with a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms and conditions, rare but serious adverse events can occur, as illustrated in this report,” the researchers wrote.
They called the man’s death “the first definitive case of C. butyricum linked to probiotics.” [bacteremia ] after treatment for severe COVID-19.” Probiotics are believed to help maintain a healthy balance of gut bacteria.
In a May study, researchers at Osaka University in Japan identified five cases of C. butyricum bacteremia caused by probiotics.
“Probiotics can provide a variety of health benefits, but this study shows that even such agents can cause rare but serious adverse effects,” lead author Ryuichi Minoda Sada said at the time.
“Our results highlight the risk of bacteremia resulting from the use of probiotics, particularly in hospitalized patients, which requires judicious prescribing practices,” Sada added.
