Man killed by probiotic supplement that caused massive infection that caused his intestines to ‘die’

Probiotics, the popular supplements for healthy gut flora, are living microorganisms that are said to perform several beneficial tasks in our digestive system.

But for one elderly Japanese man, these supposedly helpful microscopic allies proved anything but effective, causing his intestines to “die” after causing a massive and deadly infection.

Doctors from the town of Toyoake said the man was initially brought into their care after being found unconscious at home.

Tests revealed that the man, in his 70s, had a number of worrying health problems.

These included a Covid infection, a separate bacterial infection in his lungs, high blood pressure and signs of alcoholism and severe kidney damage.

CT scans of the Japanese man showed how the probiotic caused a buildup of gas in the tissues connected to the digestive system

He had previously had colon cancer and was a smoker.

During the first treatment he suffered a cardiac arrest, but doctors managed to resuscitate him.

As part of his treatment, he was prescribed antibiotics, as he suspected he had bacterial pneumonia, which was confirmed by tests three days after admission.

At the same time, the man, whose name is not mentioned in the case report, was also given various medications to alleviate complications from his Covid infection.

However, during his stay in the hospital he suffered from diarrhea.

Writing in the diary, BMJ Case ReportsAccording to the authors, this may have been caused by antibiotics that disrupted the balance of his intestinal flora.

Antibiotics are an important part of medicine, but they don’t discriminate. They can kill both the bad bacteria that doctors prescribe them for and the good bacteria that aid digestion in our gut.

As such, the man was prescribed the probiotic treatment Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum) in tablet form for a month to help restore his microbiome. This occurred approximately one week after his initial admission.

However, on the 58th day of his hospital stay, the man began to complain of a swollen abdomen and fatigue.

The next day this worsened to persistent abdominal pain. When the doctors examined the man, they found his abdomen swollen and tender to the touch.

Blood tests revealed organ failure and the patient was immediately taken for a CT scan.

This revealed that gas had accumulated in the tissues connected to his digestive system. As a result, the man suffered from non-occlusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI).

NOMI is a medical term for a condition in which the blood supply to the intestines is blocked without a blood clot being the cause.

The man, in his 70s, was prescribed the probiotic treatment Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum) in tablet form for a month to help restore his microbiome after a course of antibiotics (stock image)

Later blood tests revealed C. butyricum in his blood, a condition called bacteremia.

Genetic analysis revealed that it was the exact same strain of bacteria used in the probiotic treatment, leading doctors to conclude that the infection was the cause of his NOMI.

“Probiotics are routinely prescribed to sick patients with various gastrointestinal symptoms and conditions, but rare but serious adverse effects can occur, as described in this report,” they wrote.

The patient rapidly developed multi-organ failure, but surgery was not an option due to the extent of the damage and his existing health problems.

Instead, he was transferred to palliative care and died the next day, his 60th death since being admitted to the hospital.

The doctors also said that there were other cases of C. butyricumin-caused NOMI in the medical literature, but the certainty surrounding such cases was often clouded by the fact that the bacteria can also live naturally in the body.

They added that C. butyricum is widely used in Japan as a probiotic treatment for diarrhea and their case showed that its use, like other probiotic treatments, should be reviewed in patients with ongoing serious health problems.

Probiotics are generally thought to help the body by rebalancing the microbiome in the gut, but the NHS warns that patients with existing health conditions or a weakened immune system should speak to a doctor before taking probiotic supplements.

C. butyricum is available online in the UK from health supplement stores as a probiotic or digestive aid, with a bottle of 60 tablets costing just £20.

Probiotics are generally believed to help the body in two ways.

First, they aid in digestion, reducing symptoms such as stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhea and constipation.

Second, their presence reduces the chance that bad bacteria, which can make people sick directly, will have enough space to colonize our digestive system.

According to the NHS, there is some evidence that probiotics can help with digestive problems in some cases. However, there are also claims that probiotics can help with other conditions, such as eczema. However, these claims are not scientifically substantiated.

It also states that probiotic supplements are safe for most people, but that patients with existing health conditions or weakened immune systems should consult a doctor before taking them.

The Japanese doctors did not specify exactly when the case occurred, but did say that the patient’s family had given permission for his case to be documented.