Lactobacillus Probiotic Use in Cardiothoracic Transplant Recipients: a Link to Invasive Lactobacillus Infection?

Organisms contained in probiotics are generally regarded as non-pathogenic and safe to administer. However, increasing reports of probiotic-associated infection raise concern over the safety of these products. We report a case of Lactobacillus empyema in a human immunodeficiency virus-infected lung transplant recipient receiving a probiotic containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. We compare the epidemiology of Lactobacillus infections in heart and lung transplant recipients at our institution before and after the introduction of this probiotic, and discuss the potential mechanism for Lactobacillus within the probiotic to cause infections and disseminate.