VA Office of Research and Development
Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) cause serious infections that are difficult to treat, leading to increased morbidity and mortality, longer hospital stays, and increased healthcare costs. Many risk factors for MDRO infections are present in the Veteran population (such as older age, underlying medical conditions like diabetes, and stays in long-term healthcare settings). Some people can carry these organisms in their gut. Even without current symptoms, carrying these MDROs also increases risk of future infection. Effective, easy to use, and inexpensive interventions to reduce gut carriage of MDROs are needed to reduce risk of infection. Dietary fiber prebiotics have shown promise in improving the healthy gut microbiome, and the investigators have found that individuals with high fiber in their diets have reduced carriage of MDROs in the gut. The investigators propose a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a dietary fiber prebiotic intervention (resistant potato starch) in reducing gut MDRO carriage in Veterans with a history of MDRO carriage and/or infection. The investigators will also evaluate the effect on the gut microbiome as well as Veterans' experience with the fiber intervention.
Multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs) are resistant to antimicrobials and cause difficult to treat infections. MDRO infections thus lead to increased morbidity and mortality, increased length of stay, and higher medical costs. Colonization with an MDRO is also a risk factor for future infection. While decolonization of the skin is a straightforward and commonly used practice to prevent MDRO infections, gut colonization with MDROs is also a major risk factor but is much more difficult to modify. There is a critical gap in identification of effective, inexpensive, and easy to use interventions t…
Inclusion Criteria: * Presence of C. difficile, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), and/or Multi-drug resistant Enterobacteriaceae (MDRE) in the gut as determined by a stool test * Ambulatory/not hospitalized at time of enrollment Exclusion Criteria: * Allergy to any ingredient or source material in intervention or placebo product * Severe gastrointestinal condition that may be exacerbated by high dietary fiber intake (history of bowel obstruction, intestinal strictures, diverticulitis, active inflammatory bowel disease with structuri…
MSPrebiotic (MSPrebiotic Inc, Carberry, Manitoba, Canada). MSPrebiotic is an unmodified resistant starch derived from potatoes (Solanar tuberosum). It consists of 20% amylose and 80% amylopectin forming granules the stomach and small intestine are unable to digest allowing for absorption in the colon. MSPrebiotic is consumed by mixing 10g into cold or room temperature foods or beverages; it is not to be heated.
The placebo will be 10 grams of digestible maltodextrin powder daily. Maltodextrin is a is a polysaccharide food additive and is white, tasteless, water-soluble powder making it a comparable placebo for the prebiotic. The placebo will be pharmaceutical grade and available over the counter.