Patients on antibiotics are often prescribed probiotics to counter the effects of the antibiotics on their gut flora. Now, however, a research team from the Technion and Boston Children’s Hospital has found that using probiotics in hospital intensive care units could lead to blood infections, and that in some cases the risk could outweigh the benefits.
The study was published in Nature Medicine is a collaboration between Professor Roy Kishony and Dr. Idan Yelin of the Technion, and researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital. Prof. Kishony is the Marilyn and Henry Taub Professor of Life Sciences, director of the Lorry Lokey Center for Life Sciences and Engineering, and a member of the Faculties of Biology and Computer Science.