Effect of probiotics combined with enteral nutrition support on intestinal flora and nutritional indicators in elderly patients with cerebral infarction
Objective This study investigates the impact of probiotics combined with enteral nutrition support on the intesti-nal flora,nutritional indicators,and incidence of adverse reactions in elderly patients with cerebral infarction,aiming to pro-vide a reference for clinical treatment.Methods Ninety-five elderly patients with cerebral infarction admitted to Chengdu Shangjin Nanfu Hospital from April 2022 to April 2023 were selected as subjects.They were randomly assigned to the pro-biotic group(n=48)and the conventional group(n=47).The conventional group received a standard enteral nutrition sup-port regimen within 48 hours after the onset of cerebral infarction,while the probiotic group was treated with probiotics combined with enteral nutrition support.The intestinal flora was assessed before and two weeks after the intervention,and the levels of gastrin(GAS),motilin(MTL),albumin(ALB),and prealbumin(PAB)were compared between the two groups.The incidence of gastrointestinal adverse reactions during the intervention period was also compared.Results Be-fore the intervention,no significant differences were noted in the levels of lactobacilli,enterobacteria,and enterococci in the feces between the two groups(P>0.05).After the intervention,the number of lactobacilli in the feces of both groups in-creased,with the probiotic group showing a significantly higher increase than the conventional group(P<0.05).The levels of enterobacteria and enterococci in the feces decreased in both groups after the intervention,with the probiotic group show-ing a significantly greater reduction compared to the conventional group(P<0.05).No significant differences were found in the levels of GAS and MTL between the two groups before the intervention(P>0.05).After the intervention,the levels of GAS and MTL were higher in both groups,with the probiotic group showing significantly higher levels compared to the con-ventional group(P<0.05).Similarly,the levels of ALB and PAB increased in both groups after the intervention,with the probiotic group showing significantly higher levels compared to the conventional group(P<0.05).The incidence of adverse reactions was significantly lower in the probiotic group compared to the conventional group(P<0.05).Conclusion Probi-otics combined with enteral nutrition support can maintain the balance of intestinal flora,promote gastrointestinal function,and improve nutritional indicators in elderly patients with cerebral infarction.Additionally,it reduces the incidence of ad-verse reactions,positively influencing patient prognosis,and holds certain clinical value.