Impact of garlic tablets on nosocomial infections in hospitalized patients in intensive care units

Abstract

BackgroundNosocomial infections are one of the main causes of mortality and morbidity in hospitals, especially in intensive care units (ICUs).ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine the impact of garlic tablets on nosocomial infections in hospitalized patients in intensive care units.MethodsThis clinical trial was carried out on 94 patients, admitted to the intensive care units in Kashani and Al-Zahra hospitals from January 21, 2014 to December 20, 2014. Firstly, the patients were randomly selected by simple sampling, then they were assigned into case and control groups. The case group administered one 400 mg garlic tablet daily for 6 days and the control group received placebo. During the study, inflammatory blood factors and infection occurrence in the two groups were compared. The Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 22 through descriptive tests such as independent t-test, Chi-square test, ANOVA and exact Fisher test for the analyses of primary and secondary outcomes.ResultsDuring the study period, 78 cases of intravenous catheter tip were sent to laboratory for culture, of which, 37 cases were in the intervention group and 41 in the control group. Culture results of Catheter tips was positive in 5 cases and all five cases were in the control group. Frequency distribution of catheter tip culture was significantly higher in the control group than that of the intervention group (p=0.03).ConclusionBased on the results of our study, in people with weakened immune systems and in people with high incidence of opportunistic infections, it is necessary to strengthen their body’s immune system stimulants before dealing with these infectious agents, and cause decrease in the diseases insusceptible people. It was suggested that garlic supplementation has shown to be effective in patients admitted to ICU, who are highly susceptible to nosocomial infection, and it can be used for the prevention of septicemia and urinary tract infections. However, further research with larger sample size is needed.Trial registrationThe trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (http://www.irct.ir) with the Irct ID: IRCT207406156480N6.FundingShahrekord University of Medical Sciences financially supported this research.

Potential Health Benefit of Garlic Based on Human Intervention Studies: A Brief Overview

“…Garlic tablets at dose 400 mg daily are also a promising candidate for nosocomial infections in hospitalized patients in intensive care units and might be used for the prevention of septicemia and urinary tract infections after six days of treatment [ 137 ]. Furthermore, laboratory studies and clinical trials demonstrated that GE contains organosulfur compounds that exhibit antileishmanial and immunomodulatory activity [ 138 ].…”

Integrative therapies in intensive care units: A scoping review

“…On another note, acupuncture improved the blood pressure of one case study patient (Kreindler et al, 2014). In a sample of 94 patients, garlic tablets successfully treated urinary tract infections in all 47 in the case group (Madineh et al, 2017) and multidrug-resistant…”

“…These positive outcomes support the formal inclusion of integrative therapies in ICUs, especially those that improve patient outcomes. Therapies such as garlic tablets may be used to treat bacterial infections in ICUs since garlic is effective against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and acid-fast bacteria such as Salmonella and Helicobacter (Madineh et al, 2017). Garlic tablets are currently classified under herbal medicines which are a form of integrative therapies (Chan et al, 2018).…”

“…The use of integrative therapies in ICUs was investigated in eight quantitative studies (Feeney et al, 2017;Hayes & Cox, 1999;Madineh et al, 2017;Matsumoto-Miyazaki et al, 2018;Nicola et al, 2019;Ozlu & Bilican, 2017;Papathanassoglou et al, 2018;Salamati et al, 2017;) and five reviews (Erdogan & Atik, 2017;Jagan et al, 2019;Lee & Higgins, 2010;Richards et al, 2003;Tracy & Chlan, 2011; Table 1). Three case studies (Kreindler et al, 2014;Provancha-Romeo et al, 2019;Yalindag-Ozturk et al, 2011; Table 3) and one conference paper abstract (Hathaway et al, 2014;…”