A Warning About Probiotics And Very Ill Dogs

[Muttaburra]

Just a heads up. Stumbled over some info about human studies done in Holland and higher mortality for patients with severe pancreatitis (pre existing condition).

It is also not recommended for very ill people, so there might be some caution needed with treatment of dogs too?

Disadvantages of probiotics

In some specific situations (such as critically ill patients) they could be harmful. In a therapeutic clinical trial conducted by the Dutch Pancreatitis Study Group, the consumption of a mixture of six probiotic bacteria, increased the death rate of patients with predicted severe acute pancreatitis.[46]

In a clinical trial conducted at the University of Western Australia, aimed at showing the effectiveness of probiotics in reducing childhood allergies, Dr Susan Prescott and her colleagues gave 178 children either a probiotic or a placebo for the first six months of their life. Those given the good bacteria were more likely to develop a sensitivity to allergens.[47]

Some hospitals have reported treating lactobacillus septicaemia, which is a potentially fatal disease caused by the consumption of probiotics by people with lowered immune systems or who are already very ill.[47][48]

There is no published evidence that probiotic supplements are able to replace the body's natural flora when these have been killed off; indeed bacterial levels in feces disappear within days when supplementation ceases.[49]

Recent studies indicate that probiotic products such as yogurts could be a cause for obesity trends.[50] However, this is contested.[51][52]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probiotic

(yes the ref is wikipedia but please use the provided references if you need to check it out further)

[Staranais]

Interesting, thanks Muttaburra!

[Erny]

Thanks Muttaburra. That is interesting, especially as my boy is having issues that may be pancreatic related. I'd be interested to know if anyone knows any more of this?

[sas]

I have a boy with a very poor immune system and pro-biotics has not made him 'worse'.