Longer surgical procedures require intubation and there is a potential risk of contaminating the lower airways with pathogenic bacteria from the mouth and oropharynx. Healthy people seldom have pathogenic bacteria originating from the gastro-intestinal canal but those do occur among patients, both in those not so sick and patients with more severe problems. For ICU patients we have seen a reduction of emerging enteric bacteria in patients given oral care with probiotics and this is a pilot study to explore the possibility of the same kind of positive effects in patients due for longer (more than 4 hours of anesthesia) procedures. Randomisation * No prophylaxis * Preparation with a probiotic suspension before intubation. Cultures * oropharynx * before treatment * after intubation * before extubation * day 1 postoperatively * tracheal secretions * after intubation * before extubation
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
42
Patients will gurgle and swallow a mixture of probiotic bacteria
Lund University Hospital
Lund, Sweden
Differences in pathogenic bacteria in the oropharynx and lower airways
Emerging and resident bacteria will be compared for the cultures taken in the oropharynx and from tracheal secretions in conection with anaestesia and a surgical intervention
Time frame: During hospitalization, up to 4 weeks
White blood cells
WBC taken pre-op and days 1,2,3 post-op
Time frame: During hospitalization, up to 4 weeks
CRP
CRP taken pre-op and days 1,2,3 post-op
Time frame: During hospitalization, up to 4 weeks
Pneumonia
X-ray verified infiltrations in combination with expectorates
Time frame: Up till 7 days postoperatively
Length of hospital stay
Comparison of length of stay between the intervention group and the control group
Time frame: time to discharged from hospital or patients death
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