0
0.5
1
1.5
2+
Case
78%
Improvement
Relative Risk
Probiotics for COVID-19 Di Pierro et al. Prophylaxis
Do probiotics reduce COVID-19 infections?
Retrospective 287 patients in Italy (January - March 2022)
Fewer cases with probiotics (p=0.0074)
c19 early .org
Di Pierro et al., Minerva Medica, September 2023
Favors probiotics
Favors control
Role of S. salivarius K12 in the prevention of URTI and AGE in nursery-aged children
17th treatment shown to reduce risk in
March 2021
* , now known with
p = 0.0000013 from 26 studies.
Retrospective study of 287 nursery school children in Italy, 186 treated with S. salivarius K12 probiotic. The probiotic group had significantly lower rates of COVID-19, bronchitis, sinusitis, and laryngitis as well as lower antibiotic use. The study was registered retrospectively and details of COVID-19 diagnosis are not provided. Parents that administer the treatment may also use other treatments or take other actions that reduce risk for their children.
The immune effects of probiotics are strain-specific.
risk of case, 77.8% lower , RR 0.22, p = 0.007 , treatment mean 0.02 (±0.15) n=186, control mean 0.09 (±0.29) n=101.
Effect extraction follows pre-specified rules prioritizing more serious outcomes. Submit updates
Di Pierro et al., 30 Sep 2023, retrospective, Italy, peer-reviewed, 10 authors, study period January 2022 - March 2022, trial
NCT05840926 (history) .
Contact:
f.dipierro@vellejaresearch.com.
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COPYRIGHT 2023 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
© 2023 ediZiONi MiNerVa Medica
Online version at https://www.minervamedica.it
Minerva Medica 2023 Sep 28
dOi: 10.23736/S0026-4806.23.08920-6
role of S. salivarius K12
in the prevention of UrTi and aGe
in nursery-aged children
acute upper respiratory tract infections (UrTis) in
children are a major cause of morbidity, absence from
daily life and are among the most common reasons for
pediatrician visits.1, 2 any intervention that could prevent them would deliver important life-saving and costeffective impacts. despite their wide clinical use, the
evidence-based indications of probiotics are narrow and
mostly focus on the treatment of acute gastroenteritis
(aGe).3 indeed, the potential ability of probiotics to
influence and stabilize the gut microbiota, improving
its resistance to colonization, supports their rational
use.4 although the evidence for ability of probiotics to
also modulate immune functions is thought to be modest, it should nonetheless make the case for probiotics
to play a possible role in preventing and/or reducing
the symptoms of upper respiratory diseases.5 To date,
strains from Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium spp. are
the most common probiotics used to treat a wide range
of diseases, ailments and conditions that affect humans
and animals.6 Much less common is the possibility of resorting to different bacterial species, such as Enterococcus faecium, endowed with well-documented clinical
anti-UrTi and anti-aGe properties.7 among the species less widely used as probiotics, the oral commensal
Streptococcus salivarius (Ss) is among the best studied,
with particular reference to the K12 strain.8 This strain
has been widely investigated, especially for its effective
action in fighting ear, oral, pharyngeal, and tonsillar infections caused by S. pyogenes, S. pneumoniae, M. catarrhalis, and/or H. influenzae.9 The effectiveness of the
Ss K12 is more commonly traced back to its ability to
release two antibiotics (Salivaricin a2 and Salivaricin
B), which are effective at damaging the membrane of
the target bacteria.10 However, the capacity of Ss K12
to counteract bacterial antagonists is not limited to the
release of bacteriocins. Other microbial species, nonsensitive to salivaricins a2 and B, including oral-pharyngeal viruses (syncytial virus, adenovirus, rhinovirus), fungi such as Candida, or..
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