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Review

Probiotics: A Little Help for Enteral Nutritional Therapy in Critically Ill Adults

by
Graciele Magda de Almeida
1 and
Mariana Buranelo Egea
2,*
1
Faculty of Agronomy, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia 74690-900, Goiás, Brazil
2
Goiano Federal Institute, Campus Rio Verde, Rio Verde 75901-970, Goiás, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(17), 8458; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26178458 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 21 July 2025 / Revised: 19 August 2025 / Accepted: 22 August 2025 / Published: 30 August 2025

Abstract

The administration of enteral nutritional therapy (ENT), combined with the use of probiotics, is considered a proactive therapeutic strategy that can modulate the intestinal microbiota, resulting in beneficial effects on intestinal integrity and function, as well as on the immune system of patients. This review aimed to find evidence on the clinical effects of probiotic administration in treating patients using ENT. An integrative search was performed to select scientific articles on the use of probiotics in ENT published in the last 10 years (2014–2025) using PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scielo, and Google Scholar databases. The descriptors used in the search were “probiotics” AND “enteral nutrition” OR “tube feeding” AND “adults” AND “critical illness”. Retrospective studies, pilot single/double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials, and randomized trials investigating the effects of probiotic supplementation in enteral nutrition were included. A review of 21 manuscripts was conducted, in which all patients received ENT with probiotics, with 14 monitored in the ICU, 4 in the ward, and 3 at home. All 21 studies reviewed included a control group using enteral nutrition alone or a placebo, and some also included the study of other treatments. All studies demonstrated clinical benefits of some nature for patients who received enteral nutrition associated with the use of probiotics, such as reduced hospitalization time, improvement in the gastrointestinal tract, reduction in diarrhea associated with the use of antibiotics and inflammatory and immunological responses, and reduction in the incidence of pneumonia associated with mechanical ventilation. Probiotic supplementation in adult patients using enteral nutritional therapy demonstrates benefits that help promote health and improve intestinal microbiota composition. No side effects or adverse risks have been reported.
Keywords: mechanical ventilation; intestinal microbiota; bioactive compounds; diarrhea; tube feeding mechanical ventilation; intestinal microbiota; bioactive compounds; diarrhea; tube feeding

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Almeida, G.M.d.; Egea, M.B. Probiotics: A Little Help for Enteral Nutritional Therapy in Critically Ill Adults. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26, 8458. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26178458

AMA Style

Almeida GMd, Egea MB. Probiotics: A Little Help for Enteral Nutritional Therapy in Critically Ill Adults. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2025; 26(17):8458. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26178458

Chicago/Turabian Style

Almeida, Graciele Magda de, and Mariana Buranelo Egea. 2025. "Probiotics: A Little Help for Enteral Nutritional Therapy in Critically Ill Adults" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 26, no. 17: 8458. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26178458

APA Style

Almeida, G. M. d., & Egea, M. B. (2025). Probiotics: A Little Help for Enteral Nutritional Therapy in Critically Ill Adults. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(17), 8458. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26178458

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