A new study led by Indian-American researcher has found differences in the gut bacteria and metabolites of COVID-19 patients, admitted in ICU. These patients also had lower levels of secondary bile acids, and less of metabolite called “desaminotyrosine”. It offers possibilities of preventing the future deaths. According to Bhakti Patel, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at the University of Chicago Medicine, differences in the gut microbiome are linked to an increased risk of death in COVID-19 / Coronavirus patients with respiratory failure.
Bhakti Patel added that the Patients who suffered progressive lung failure and died had more of a group of bacteria called proteobacteria than the patients who recovered. These patients also had the lower levels of the secondary bile acids, and less of the metabolite called “desaminotyrosine”. Conversely, the patients who improved had the higher levels of secondary bile acids and more “desaminotyrosine”.
What Are Gut Bacteria?
Living inside of your gut are 300 to 500 different kinds of bacteria containing nearly 2 million genes. Paired with other tiny organisms like the viruses and fungi, they make what’s known as the microbiota, or the microbiome. However, certain types of the bacteria in your intestines can also contribute to many diseases.