ArticleFrontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology2021
Oropharyngeal Probiotic ENT-K12 Prevents Respiratory Tract Infections Among Frontline Medical Staff Fighting Against COVID-19: A Pilot Study.
Article in Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of probiotics on COVID-19 prevention and treatment against mild COVID-19 in outpatient care: A systematic review.Nutrition and health · 2026Pooled it
- Assessment of the Prophylactic Effects of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics Against COVID-19 Infection: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Clinical medicine & research · 2024Pooled it
- Prophylaxis against covid-19: living systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2021Pooled it
- Use ofFrontiers in immunology · 2023Trial
- Article
- Hidden connection: Impact of the gut microbiota on respiratory diseases in children (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2026Review
- Research progress on microecology and childhood respiratory infections via the lung-gut axis.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Review
- Advancements related to probiotics for preventing and treating recurrent respiratory tract infections in children.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Review
- Respiratory Flora Intervention: A New Strategy for the Prevention and Treatment of Occupationally Related Respiratory Allergy in Healthcare Workers.Microorganisms · 2024Review
- Expert consensus on the use of oropharyngeal probiotic Bactoblis in respiratory tract infection and otitis media: available clinical evidence and recommendations for future research.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2024Article
- An overview on role of nutrition on COVID-19 immunity: Accumulative review from available studies.Clinical nutrition open science · 2023Review
- Clinical Effects ofMicroorganisms · 2022Article
- Respiratory and Intestinal Microbiota in Pediatric Lung Diseases-Current Evidence of the Gut-Lung Axis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Chemotherapy-associated oral microbiome changes in breast cancer patients.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Article
- Current Status of Probiotics as Supplements in the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Review
- Viral infectious diseases severity: co-presence of transcriptionally active microbes (TAMs) can play an integral role for disease severity.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Oropharyngeal Probiotic ENT-K12 as an Effective Dietary Intervention for Children With Recurrent Respiratory Tract Infections During Cold Season.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- Selection of Probiotics in the Prevention of Respiratory Tract Infections and Their Impact on Occupational Health: Scoping Review.Nutrients · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Healthcare workers at the frontline are facing a substantial risk of respiratory tract infection during the COVID-19 outbreak due to an extremely stressful work schedule and public health event. A well-established first-line defense on oropharyngeal microbiome could be a promising strategy to protect individuals from respiratory tract infections including COVID-19. The most thoroughly studied oropharyngeal probiotic product which creates a stable upper respiratory tract microbiota capable of preventing upper respiratory tract infections was chosen to evaluate the safety and efficacy on reducing episodes of upper respiratory tract infections for COVID-19 healthcare workers. To our knowledge to date, this is the very first study describing the beneficial effects of oropharyngeal probiotic been administered by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this randomized controlled trial, we provided the probiotics to frontline medical staff who work in the hospitals in Wuhan and had been in close contact with hospitalized COVID-19 patients for prophylactic use on a daily basis. Our finding suggests that oropharyngeal probiotic administration significantly reduced the incidence of respiratory tract infections by 64.8%, reduced the time experiencing respiratory tract infections and oral ulcer symptoms by 78%, shortened the days absent from work by 95.5%, and reduced the time under medication where there is no record of antibiotic and anti-viral drug intake in the probiotic group. Furthermore, medical staff treated with Bactoblis experienced sustained protection from respiratory tract infections since the 10th day of oropharyngeal probiotic administration resulting in an extremely low incidence rate of respiratory tract infections.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.