Table 2.
Type of risk | Patients |
---|---|
High |
Immunocompromised patients |
|
Premature neonates |
Low |
Patients with a central venous catheter |
|
Patients receiving probiotics by jejunostomy |
|
Patients concomitantly receiving broad spectrum antibiotics to which the probiotic is resistant |
|
Patients receiving probiotics with high mucosal adhesion properties or showing an established pathogenicity |
Patients with cardiac valvular disease (for Lactobacillus probiotics only) |
The presence in the same patients of a single major or more than one minor risk factor dictates caution when using probiotics.