Safety and Feasibility of Kefir Administration in Critically Ill Adults

Safety and Feasibility of Kefir Administration in Critically Ill Adults

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of kefir administration in critically ill adults.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Critically ill adult patients receiving antibiotics.
• Functional GI tract (able to tolerate oral diet or tube feeding).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Received antibiotics for >72 hours prior to enrollment.
• Known immunosuppression (due to medications including chronic steroids, TNF-alpha inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, immunosuppressive antimetabolites, etc.).
• Compromised gut integrity (bowel resection, GI malignancy, GI bleed, inflammatory bowel disease).
• History of CDI within 60 days.
• Liver failure or pancreatitis.
• Dairy intolerance or milk allergy.
• Patients consuming probiotics at baseline.
• Artificial heart valve.
• Extremely poor prognosis and not expected to survive the treatment period.