Prevention of Recurrent Acute Otitis Media in Children Through the Use of Lactobacillus salivarius PS7, a Target-Specific Probiotic Strain

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 11; no. 2; p. 376
• Main Authors: Cárdenas, Nivia, Martín, Virginia, Arroyo, Rebeca, López, Mario, Carrera, Marta, Badiola, Carlos, Jiménez, Esther, Rodríguez, Juan M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 12.02.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Adolescent; Animals; Anti-Infective Agents - metabolism; Anti-Infective Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial activity; Bacteria; bacteriocin; Biofilms; Caco-2 Cells; Child; Children; Coculture Techniques; Ear diseases; Female; HT29 Cells; Humans; Hydrogen peroxide; Identification; Infants; Lactobacillus salivarius; Ligilactobacillus salivarius; Male; Microbiota; otitis; Otitis media; Otitis Media - prevention & control; Pilot Projects; prevention; probiotic; Probiotics; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Streptococcus infections; Spain; probiotic; otitis; bacteriocin; Lactobacillus salivarius; prevention
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu11020376

Acute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most common bacterial infections in children. Empiric antibiotherapy leads to increasing antimicrobial resistance rates among otopathogens and may impair the correct development of the microbiota in early life. In this context, probiotics seem to be an attractive approach for preventing recurrent AOM (rAOM) through the restoration of the middle ear and nasopharyngeal microbiota. The aim of this study was the selection of a probiotic strain ( PS7), specifically tailored for its antagonism against otopathogens. Since PS7 was safe and displayed a strong antimicrobial activity against otopathogens, its efficacy in preventing rAOM was assessed in a trial involving 61 children suffering from rAOM. Children consumed daily ~1 × 10⁸ CFU of PS7, and the number of AOM episodes were registered and compared with that observed in the previous 6 and 12 months. The microbiota of samples collected from the external auditory canal samples was quantitatively and qualitatively assessed. The number of AOM episodes during the intervention period decreased significantly (84%) when compared to that reported during the 6 months period before the probiotic intervention. In conclusion, PS7 is a promising strain for the prevention of rAOM in infants and children.