Effect of probiotics on postoperative quality of gastric bypass surgeries: a prospective randomized trial.
BACKGROUND
Gastric bypass surgery is the recommended treatment for severely obese patients. However, postoperative symptomatic gastrointestinal (GI) episodes are common complaints.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if administration of probiotics improves symptomatic GI episodes after gastric bypass surgery.


METHODS
Hospital-based bariatric center.


METHODS
This double-blind, randomized trial was conducted between March 2010 and September 2010 with 60 patients who underwent gastric bypass for severe obesity and experienced postoperative symptomatic GI episodes. Patients were randomly assigned to the probiotics group A (n = 20; 1 g Clostridium butyricum MIYAIRI twice daily); probiotics group B (n = 20; Bifidobacterium longum BB536 twice daily); or digestive enzymes group (n = 20; Aczym, containing 100 mg takadiastase N, 20 mg cellulase AP, 50 mg lipase MY, and 100 mg pancreatin, twice daily). Quality of life was measured using the modified Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (mGIQLI) before and after the 2-week intervention.


RESULTS
Preintervention patient characteristics and mGIQLI scores were similar among the 3 groups. After the 2-week intervention, the mean mGIQLI score improved from 57.4 to 63.9 points in the entire sample and also within each group for 7 items specifically for 7: excessive passage of gas, foul smell of flatulence, belching, heartburn, abdominal noises, abdominal bloating, and abdominal pain.


CONCLUSIONS
Administration of probiotics or digestive enzymes may improve symptomatic GI episodes after gastric bypass surgeries and improve quality of life, at least initially.
Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Min-Sheng General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC; Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Department of Nursing, Min-Sheng General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: jackykenzero@gmail.com.
Jung-Chien
JC
Chen
Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Min-Sheng General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC.
Wei-Jei
WJ
Lee
Department of Nursing, Min-Sheng General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC.
Jun-Juin
JJ
Tsou
Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC; Graduate Institute of Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
Tsang-Pai
TP
Liu
Department of Nursing, Min-Sheng General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ROC.
Pei-Ling
PL
Tsai
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015390:Gastric Bypass / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019936:Probiotics / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
Gastric bypass; Probiotics; Quality of life