Examining low bacterial dietary practice: a survey on low bacterial food

Patients with haematological malignancies have periods of neutropenia caused by the disease process and subsequent treatments, during which time they are at an increased risk of developing life threatening infections. Historically, many measures have been initiated to protect patients during this time. One such measure has been to provide a low bacterial diet to minimise the number of pathogens ingested from food. However, scientific literature lacks any substantial evidence confirming whether this is beneficial in the management of these patients while guidelines are often unclear and give conflicting advice. A detailed survey was carried out to examine the use of low bacterial diets considering criteria, conditions and specific dietary products. One hundred and eight questionnaires were completed, mainly European. Ninety-five (88%) centres used guidelines to advise practice for inpatients. Although 88% of the hospitals have guidelines, when these were examined there were enormous differences in both the guidelines themselves and the way in which they are implemented. The restrictions seen are varied and sometimes even contradict each other. Forty-eight (44%) of the respondents imposed restrictions on all products mentioned. Conditions for starting or stopping dietary restrictions were also diverse. This survey highlights the need to attempt to standardise dietary restrictions in a patient group for whom good nutrition is paramount.