Effects of probiotic preparations combined with nutritional intervention on gut microbiota and prognostic nutritional index in patients undergoing variceal ligation for cirrhosis
Fu Yuting
Liu Meihong
Huang Rui
Cheng Wenfang
Lu Xi
Qiu Xinyun
Dong Yang
Abstract：Objective To investigate the effects of probiotic preparations combined with nutritional intervention on the gut mi-crobiota and prognostic nutritional index(PNI)in cirrhotic patients after variceal ligation,in order to provide a reference for promoting intestinal function recovery and nutritional status improvement in this population.Methods From June 2022 to June 2024,180 cirrhotic patients undergoing variceal ligation at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were ran-domly assigned to an observation group(n=90)or a control group(n=90).Both groups received conventional therapy inclu-ding hepatoprotection,antiviral treatment,diuresis,and vitamin supplementation.The control group additionally received nu-tritional intervention,while the observation group received probiotics orally in addition to the control regimen,for four weeks.The complication rates,nutritional indices,gut microbiota composition,and PNI changes before and after treatment were com-pared;correlations between PNI and microbiota changes were analyzed.Results The complication rate in the observation group was 5.55％(5/90),which was significantly lower than the control group's 15.55％(14/90)(x2=4.766,P=0.029).Before treatment,serum albumin(Alb)and prealbumin(PA)levels did not differ between groups(P＞0.05);after treat-ment,both biomarkers rose in both groups but were significantly higher in the observation group than in the control group(P＜0.05).Gut microbiota analysis showed no pretreatment differences in Bifidobacterium,Lactobacillus,Escherichia coli(E.coli),and Enterococcus counts(P＞0.05).Posttreatment,Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus counts increased significant-ly in both groups,with greater increases in the observation group,while E.coli and Enterococcus counts decreased significant-ly in both groups,with greater reductions in the observation group(P＜0.05).PNI values demonstrated no pretreatment differences(P＞0.05)but rose significantly in both groups posttreatment,with higher values in the observation group(P＜0.05).Correlation analysis revealed that PNI levels correlated positively with Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus counts and negatively with E.coli and Enterococcus counts(P＜0.05).Conclusion Probiotic preparations combined with nutritional in-tervention effectively restore gut microbiota balance and improve nutritional status in cirrhotic patients after variceal ligation,which may facilitate recovery and hold positive clinical promise.
Keywords：Probiotic preparationsNutritional interventionCirrhosisVariceal ligationGut microbiotaPrognostic nutritional index
Publication Date：2025-05-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-09-04(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 64-70 )