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Observational Study
. 2023 Jan 17;15(3):488.
doi: 10.3390/nu15030488.

Ongoing Treatment with a Spore-Based Probiotic Containing Five Strains of Bacillus Improves Outcomes of Mild COVID-19

Adrian Catinean  1 , Anamaria Sida  1 , Celina Silvestru  1 , Gheorghe G Balan  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Ongoing Treatment with a Spore-Based Probiotic Containing Five Strains of Bacillus Improves Outcomes of Mild COVID-19

Adrian Catinean et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Spore-based Bacillus probiotic treatment improves intestinal health. The intestinal microbiota influences both the innate and adaptive immune responses. As such, the influence of ongoing spore-based probiotic treatment (five probiotic strains of Bacillus) on the clinical outcomes of mild COVID-19 was evaluated in this retrospective, observational study. Demographics, medical history, probiotic use, and COVID-19 symptom information were collected. The study included 120 patients with a PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and mild COVID-19 symptoms. The probiotic group (n = 60) comprised patients with ongoing probiotic treatment (≥1 month); the control group comprised patients not taking probiotics (n = 60). The primary outcome was time to symptom resolution; secondary outcomes included time to fever resolution and presence of digestive symptoms. The probiotic group had a significantly shorter time to symptom resolution (mean (95% confidence interval) days: control group, 8.48 (6.56, 10.05); probiotic group, 6.63 (5.56; 6.63); p = 0.003) and resolution of fever (control group, 2.67 (1.58, 3.61); probiotic group, 1.48 (1.21, 2.03); p < 0.001). More patients in the probiotic group (n = 53) than in the control group (n = 34) did not have digestive symptoms (p < 0.001). Among adults with mild COVID-19, participants receiving ongoing probiotic treatment had a shorter clinical course, and fewer had digestive symptoms compared with those not taking probiotics.

Keywords: Bacillus; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; fever in COVID-19 infection; gastrointestinal COVID-19 symptoms; gut microbiota; gut–lung axis; immunomodulation; probiotics; time to symptom resolution.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participant disposition.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Time to resolution of all COVID-19 symptoms. The orange line represents participants in the probiotic group, and the blue line represents participants in the control group. CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kaplan–Meier curve showing time to resolution of fever. The orange line represents participants in the probiotic group, and the blue line represents participants in the control group. CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Distribution of maximum fever for individual participants. The orange bars represent participants in the probiotic group, and the blue bars represent participants in the control group. IQR, interquartile range; SD, standard deviation.
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