Patients who are put on mechanically-assisted breathing apparatus are susceptible to lung infections. In 2010, doctors in the US conducted a clinical study to see if GG probiotic could protect adult patients who were mechanically ventilated in the Intensive Care Unit from developing lung infections.
They found that taking GG probiotic halved the number of cases of pneumonia in this group of very ill patients.
Chance of remaining free of pneumonia while receiving life support in Intensive Care Unit.
(VAP = ventilator-associated pneumonia) [Morrow et al. 2010]
References:
Morrow LE et al. Probiotic prophylaxis of ventilator-associated pneumonia. A blinded, randomized controlled trial. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2010;182:1058-1064
Wang J et al. Probiotics for preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of high-quality randomized controlled trials. PLoS ONE 2013;8(12):e83934