ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the effects of early enteral nutrition (EN) combined with probiotics on intestinal flora and immune function in patients with severe ischemic stroke. Methods Sixty-nine severe ischemic stroke patients were admitted and continuously enrolled in Taizhou First People's Hospital from June 2017 to June 2018, and they were randomly divided into an EN combined with probiotics group (35 cases) and a simple EN group (34 cases). Early EN support was given to both groups and probiotics (Live Combined Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Enterococcus capsules) was added to the EN combined with probiotics group, 0.42 g each time, 3 times a day for 14 days. The changes of serum inflammatory markers [hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-10 (IL-10)], intestinal flora (Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Enterobacter, Enterococcus, Bacteroides), intestinal mucosal barrier [endotoxin, D-lactic acid, diamine oxidase (DAO), intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) ], and immune indexes [immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG, IgM), human leukocyte DR antigen (HLA-DR)] were observed in two groups of patients after treatment. Results With the prolongation of time, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacilli, HLA-DR and IgA, IgG, IgM after EN in both groups all decreased first and then had a tendency of increase, all reaching the lowest value on the EN 3rd day and then gradually elevated arriving at the peak value on the EN 14th day, and the levels in EN combined with probiotics group were significantly higher than those in the simple EN group [Bifidobacterium (×107 cfu/g): 8.31±1.49 vs. 7.49±1.32, Lactobacillus (×107 cfu/g): 8.04±1.45 vs. 7.19 ±1.37, HLA-DR: (67.22±9.11)% vs. (61.21±9.69)%, IgA (mg/L): 170.34±40.13 vs. 149.54±38.76, IgG (g/L):4.88±0.88 vs. 4.31±0.86, IgM (mg/L): 879.47±100.82 vs. 821.52±97.75, all P < 0.05]. With the prolongation of time, the Clostridium, Enterobacter, Enterococcus, Bacteroides, hs-CRP, PCT, TNF-α, endotoxin, D-lactic acid, DAO, I-FABP after En in both groups all increased first and then had a tendency of decrease, reaching the highest level on the EN 3rd day, then gradually decreased arriving at the valley value on the EN 14th day, and the levels in the EN combined with probiotics group were significantly lower than those in the simple EN group [Clostridium (×107 cfu/g): 5.23±0.87 vs. 5.79±0.91, Enterobacter (×107 cfu/g): 7.45±1.21 vs. 8.62±1.32, Enterococcus (×107 cfu/g): 7.32±1.05 vs. 8.12±1.23, Bacteroides (×107 cfu/g): 9.16±1.35 vs. 9.87±1.42, hs-CRP (mg/L): 18.45±12.98 vs. 25.47±15.55, PCT (ng/L): 3.24±1.21 vs. 4.18±1.32, TNF-α (ng/L): 9.43±8.69 vs. 13.59±9.45, IL-10 (μg/L): 39.45±10.72 vs. 48.52±11.42, endotoxin (U/L): 6.74±2.12 vs. 9.21±3.28, D-lactic acid (mg/L): 98.74±20.74 vs. 114.78±19.89, DAO (mg/L): 21.45±8.49 vs. 29.47±9.41, I-FABP (ng/L): 1.4±0.2 vs. 1.5±0.2, all P < 0.05]. Conclusion Early EN combined with probiotics can effectively regulate the intestinal flora and intestinal mucosal barrier function, reduce the level of inflammatory response and enhance the body immunity in patients with severe ischemic stroke.