Inhibitory effect of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lb. fermentum isolated from the faeces of healthy infants against nonfermentative bacteria causing nosocomial infections

Nosocomial infection constitutes a major public health problem worldwide. Increasing antibiotic resistance of pathogens associated with nosocomial infections has also become a major therapeutic challenge for physicians. Thus, development of alternative treatment protocols, such as the use of probiotics, matters. The aim of this research was to determine the antagonistic properties of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lb. fermentum isolated from the faeces of healthy infants against nonfermentative bacteria causing nosocomial infections. One hundred five samples of nosocomial infections were collected and processed for bacterial isolation and antimicrobial susceptibility testing following standard bacteriologic techniques. The antibiotic susceptibility test was performed by the disk diffusion method, and antagonistic effect of Lactobacillus strains was investigated by well diffusion method. Of 105 samples, a total of 29 bacterial strains were identified as nonfermentative bacteria, including 17 Acinetobacter baumannii and 12 Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A. baumannii showed high resistance to tested antibiotics except ampicillin/sulbactam, and P. aeruginosa showed resistance to ampicillin/sulbactam and gentamicin and sensitive to amikacin and meropenem. Lb. plantarum had antagonistic properties against both A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa strains. Lb. plantarum had considerable effects on preventing the growth of A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa strains. However, further research is needed to better understanding of these effects on P. aeruginosa.