A tale of caution: prolonged Bacillus clausii bacteraemia after probiotic use in an immunocompetent child
Akshay Khatri, Shipra Rai, Caroline Shank, Alissa McInerney, Blanka Kaplan, Stefan Hagmann, Mundeep K. Kainth
Abstract
Introduction. Bacillus clausii as a probiotic supplement is increasingly used in both adult and paediatric patient populations. There is limited awareness about potential adverse effects. Case presentation. We report a case of prolonged (111 days) B. clausii bacteraemia after brief probiotic use in a 17-month-old immunocompetent child, without a definite focus of infection and in the absence of predisposing risk factors or underlying co-morbidities. We identified seven probiotic use-associated cases of prolonged B. clausii bacteraemia (mean duration [range] 64 days [14–93 days] where data were available) in the literature, all with underlying co-morbidities. Conclusion. B. clausii probiotic preparations may cause prolonged bacteraemia, rendering patients with underlying co-morbidities as well as those with unrecognized risk factors vulnerable for significant infectious complications.