Effect of the oral application of a multispecies probiotic on the wound healing efficiency and periodontitis in diabetic patients - a pilot study
INTRODUCTION Chronic wounds are common in diabetic patients and are a great psychological and physical distress, associated with a decrease in quality of life (QoL) and high socio-oeconomical burden. Pathogenic germs often colonizing chronic wounds hinder the healing process and bear a great risk for (systemic) infections. These are suspected to derive from the conventional patients´ microbiome, natural or clinical environment. Probiotics are capable to displace human pathogenic bacteria, ameliorate inflammtation and positively influence the microenvironment/microbiome of skin and mucosa. PATIENTS & METHODS In this pilot study, designed as a proof of concept, non-placebo controlled clinical trial, 21 patients with diabetes and chronic wounds received a multispecies probiotic daily for six months. Changes in oral, stool, and wound microbiome were investigated by means of Illumina based 16S sequence analysis  targeting the V1-V2 hypervariable regions. Additionally, the effects of the probiotic intervention on wound healing, periodontitis markers, as well as wound-associated QoL (by Wound-QoL) were analyzed in course of the clinical study.