Evaluation of the Variation of the Intestinal Microbiota and the Integrity of the Intestinal Barrier in Patients With M.D.R. Germ-induced Pneumonia Undergoing Enteral Nutrition

The M.D.R. it is defined as multiple resistance to antibiotics and its prevalence in intensive care units (ICU) is continuously increasing throughout the world, with great variability between continents, but also between the microorganisms themselves involved. It is estimated that global mortality attributable to antibiotic resistance is approximately 1.3 million deaths/year.

The study in question is a prospective observational study in which the effect of enteral nutrition in patients suffering from MDR on the intestinal microbiota will be evaluated. This study will enroll patients who will be hospitalized at the Resuscitation Center in the U.O.C. of Anesthesia and Resuscitation and Intensive Care of our institution, after having been admitted to other hospitals following a traumatic event which required mechanical ventilation.

Following tracheostomy, patients developed an infection detected by tracheobronchial aspirate The infection was subsequently treated with high doses of various antibiotics which led to the onset of pneumonia caused by M.D.R. germs.

Once the overall clinical picture has stabilized, i.e. the specialist needs have ceased, patients come to the U.O.C. of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit with a clinical picture compromised by the use of antibiotics, which caused a modification of the intestinal bacterial flora and microbiota. In fact, these patients present soft or liquid stools, as well as persistent diarrhea. Therefore they are hospitalized to proceed with nutritional rehabilitation using Enteral Nutrition, as they are very often dysphagic and therefore unable to feed themselves independently, and consequently "wash out" of antibiotics from the moment of transfer.

As per normal clinical practice, enteral nutrition is started for these patients to avoid the risk of malnutrition. For the purpose of standardizing the study, three different commercial formulations of enteral nutrition are used depending on the presence or absence of concomitant pathologies: