Probiotics improve acute gastrointestinal dysfunction in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery

Acute gastrointestinal injury (AGI) after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is one of the signs for poor prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the effect of preoperative probiotics supplementation on AGI. In this double-blind randomized controlled trial, patients undergoing heart valve replacement (HVR) with CPB were randomly assigned to receive either a probiotic (Lac group) or placebo (Placebo group). The probiotic was given daily, for seven days before surgery. We demonstrated that preoperative supplementation of probiotics can improve the recovery of patients after CPB surgery by preventing acute gastrointestinal injury. Cardiac Surgery Score, and the duration of CPB ≥ 132 min are independent risk factors for the occurrence of AGI. In contrast, probiotics is a preventive factor for the occurrence of AGI. There was gut microbiota imbalance in patients who underwent HVR with CPB. The 16s rRNA showed that there was a difference in gut microbiota between two groups.