Intestinal colonization with lactobacilli strains in neutropenic patients.

In order to protect granulopenic patients against infections by pathogens from their own digestive tract, large amounts of lactobacilli were given to 5 patients whose intestinal flora had been suppressed by oral antibiotics. In all these cases, lactobacilli failed to prevent spontaneous recolonization of the gastrointestinal tract by enteric bacteria. Six attempts of colonization were made; in spite of the importance of the inoculum administered orally, large numbers of lactobacilli were recovered from stools in only two cases.