Experience with Saccharomyces boulardii Probiotic in Oncohaematological Patients

Abstract

Very few reports have been published to date on the bloodstream infections caused by Saccharomyces spp. in oncohaematological patients, and there are no guidelines on the use of this probiotic microorganism in this population. We describe the use of probiotic preparation containing Saccharomyces boulardii in a large group of oncohaematological patients. We retrospectively analysed the data from 32,000 patient hospitalisations at the haematological centre during 2011–2013 (including 196 haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients) in a tertiary care university-affiliated hospital. During the study period, 2270 doses of Saccharomyces boulardii probiotic were administered to the oncohaematological patients. In total, 2816 mycological cultures were performed, out of which 772 (27.4%) were positive, with 52 indicating digestive tract colonisation by Saccharomyces spp., mainly in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or multiple myeloma (MM). While colonised, they were hospitalised for 1683 days and 416 microbiological cultures of their clinical samples were performed. In the studied group of patients, there were six blood cultures positive for fungi; however, they comprised Candida species: two C. glabrata, one C. albicans, one C. krusei, one C. tropicalis and one C. parapsilosis. There was no blood culture positive for Saccharomyces spp. Our study indicates that despite colonisation of many oncohaematological patients with Saccharomyces spp., there were no cases of fungal sepsis caused by this species.

Bloodstream Infection by Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Two COVID-19 Patients after Receiving Supplementation of Saccharomyces in the ICU

“…The administration of probiotic preparations containing live yeasts, like Saccharomyces, may pose a high risk to patients suffering from immune deficiencies due to malignancies or immunosuppressive treatment. Moreover, oral mucositis or ulcers may lead to yeast translocation into the bloodstream of such patients [20,21]. Central venous catheters in critically ill patients could serve as the site of entry due to hand transmission [22,23], although the main portal of entry for invasive infections by Saccharomyces cerevisiae is supposed to be digestive [9].…”

“…Saccharomyces boulardii, which is used in commercial probiotic preparations is considered to be an invalid taxon and either a subtype or a variety of Saccharomyces cerevisiae [9,26,27], in fact identical to a particular strain of the latter [28]. Fungaemia by S. boulardii, after probiotic use, is more often seen in critically ill patients in the ICU rather than in typical immunodeficient patients [9,20,28]. However, this could be attributed to the prophylactic use of antifungals as routine treatment in immunocompromised, such as oncohaematological, patients [20].…”

“…Fungaemia by S. boulardii, after probiotic use, is more often seen in critically ill patients in the ICU rather than in typical immunodeficient patients [9,20,28]. However, this could be attributed to the prophylactic use of antifungals as routine treatment in immunocompromised, such as oncohaematological, patients [20].…”

Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745: A Non-bacterial Microorganism Used as Probiotic Agent in Supporting Treatment of Selected Diseases

“…However, meta-analysis showed that administration of S. boulardii is safe and provides beneficial effects in children suffering from acute diarrhoea [ 77 ]. Furthermore, the results of the study by Sulik-Tyszka et al indicate that despite the colonization of many oncohaematological patients with Saccharomyces spp., there were no cases of fungal sepsis caused by this species [ 78 ].…”

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Var. Boulardii Probiotic Yeasts As Etiological Agents Of Oportunistic Infections In Humans

“…W 2017 roku Sulik-Tyszka i wsp. przeprowadzili retrospektywną analizę danych dotyczących pacjentów przebywających na oddziałach hematologii i onkologii Warszawskiego Szpitala Uniwersyteckiego w latach 2011-2013 (32 000 chorych) [113]. W badanym okresie, jedynym probiotykiem poda-wanym pacjentom był Enterol 250 (Biocodex, France) w dawce 250 mg liofilizowanych komórek drożdży.…”