ORal Antibiotics in Acute Mesenteric Ischemia

Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) is a life-threatening condition with an increasing incidence (7-13/100000 PY). The mortality of AMI is associated with the development and extent of transmural intestinal necrosis (IN), ranging from 25% without IN to 75% with IN. Given its potential reversibility, preventing the progression of AMI towards IN is now considered a primary therapeutic goal. Early management of AMI can thus avoid fatal outcomes and prevent lifelong complications such as short bowel syndrome. Following the results of a pilot study showing an improvement in survival and lower resection rates, our team created a first-of-its-kind intestinal stroke center (SURVI unit, Beaujon Hospital, Clichy, France) that provides 24/7 standardized multimodal and multidisciplinary care to AMI patients referred from all hospitals in the Paris region. As no randomized clinical trial has ever been conducted, the treatment offered by SURVI is based on pathophysiological knowledge and observational clinical data. AMI naturally progresses to sepsis, surgical complications, and multi-organ failure, direct consequences of IN. Features of sepsis are reported in up to 90% of AMI patients compared with 3-22% of patients with brain or myocardial ischemia, supporting a specific septic component in AMI. Experimental studies demonstrated reduced translocation and mortality in germ-free animals or after administration of oral antibiotics targeting Gram-negative and anaerobic early bacterial overgrowth and translocation. In a prospective observational study, the investigators recently suggested a protective effect of systematic oral antibiotics in terms of intestinal preservation, yielding a reduced occurrence of IN (HR: 0.16, 95% confidence interval 0.03-0.62). However, the systematic use of oral antibiotics in AMI remains controversial due to the individual and collective risk of increasing the carriage of multi-drug resistant bacterias.