Clinical investigation of intestinal microbiota in septic shock patients / 中华急诊医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To compare the intestinal microbiota of septic shock patients and healthy subjects,and study the composition of the intestinal microbiota and its effect on septic shock patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).Methods A total of 15 stool samples were prospectively collected from septic shock patients admitted to the ICU in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University between June 2015 and February 2016,while 15 samples from healthy subjects served as controls.Bacterial DNA was submitted for 16S rDNA gene sequencing.The association between gut microbiota composition and clinical parameters was evaluated.Shannon index was used to assess the bacterial diversity.Results Compared with the healthy subjects,the composition of intestinal microbiota in septic shock patients changed significantly.The abundance of Proteobacteria and Fusobacteria were significantly higher in septic shock patients than in healthy subjects (23.71％ vs 3.53％,P=0.000 6;1.27％ vs 0.12％,P=0.059,respectively).In this study,29 species were identified,and the composition of intestinal microbiota in each patient was highly individualized.There was no significant difference in Shannon index between septic shock patients and healthy subjects (P=0.12).Conclusions The composition of intestinal microbiota in septic shock patients was characterized by high diversity and individualization,but there was the phenomenon of overproduction of single bacteria genus.The relationship between the composition of intestinal microbiota and clinical outcomes requires further exploration by large sample studies.