Influence of Probiotics in Prevention and Treatment of Patients Who Undergo Chemotherapy or/and Radiotherapy and Suffer from Mucositis, Diarrhoea, Constipation, Nausea and Vomiting.

The administration of probiotics to patients treated with chemo- and/or radiotherapy is assumed to be beneficial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of probiotic intake on the severity of selected gastrointestinal side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The searched databases included PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus from which twenty-one studies were included. Most of them concerned diarrhoea, however, two of the studies examined constipation, another two nausea and vomiting, and eight of the included studies regarded mucositis. The total number of patients equalled 2621. The time of the conducted therapy, the administered species, neoplasm pathology, and adjuvant therapy varied. The outcome was assessed by gathering information about the statistical significance of the improvements. An enhancement was observed in thirteen studies, where probiotics had a significant impact on each of the included chemo- and/or radiotherapy side effects. However, the heterogeneity of the assessed data makes it impossible to state a firm conclusion.

Influence of Enteral Nutrition on Gut Microbiota Composition in Patients with Crohn's Disease: A Systematic Review.

The aim of the study was to systematically and comprehensively evaluate whether exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) has impact on gut microbiota in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). The databases PUBMED (MEDLINE), SCOPUS and WEB OF SCIENCE were searched. Out of 232 studies, 9 met inclusion criteria. The combined analyzed population consists of 118 patients with CD and treated with EEN with a time of intervention of 2-12 weeks. Studies were conducted in children, with the exception of one study. All applied feeding formulas had similar energy value and composition. The microbiome analysis was based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing of faecal samples. In all studies, EEN treatment decreases inflammatory markers (i.e., hs-CRP and FCP). A change in abundance of numerous bacterial families (Clostridiaceae, Eubacteriaceae, Bacteroidaceae) was noticed, especially in Bacteroidaceae. An increase in families connected to the more severe clinical course (Fusobacteria, Prevotella, Lachnospiraceae) was observed in only 2.5% of CD patients. Our analyses suggest EEN has a beneficial influence on gut microbiome in patients with CD, which is interrelated with clinical patient's improvement and time of disease remission.