The Microbiome in Critical Illness.

Abstract

Evidence suggests that the intestinal microbiome may play an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of acute critical illness in humans and other mammals, although evidence in small animal medicine is sparse. Moreover, the intestinal microbiota plays many important metabolic roles (production of short-chain fatty acids, trimethylamine-N-oxide, and normal bile acid metabolism) and is crucial for immunity as well as defense against enteropathogens. The use of probiotics and fecal microbiota transplantation as instruments to modulate the intestinal microbiota seems to be safe and effective in studies on critically ill dogs with acute gastrointestinal diseases.