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August 12, 2007 – 12:14 pm | posted in Pediatrics

The number of probiotics people can purchase has grown tremendously over the last few years. They are supposed to, among other things, treat diarrhea effectively. According to a report in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) not all of them are as helpful as they claim to be. A probiotic is a micro-organism that is good for your health when large numbers colonize the bowel.

Five different probiotic preparations were tested on 571 children by researchers from the University of Naples, Italy. The children were aged 3 to 36 months and they were all visiting a family pediatrician with acute diarrhea. They were randomly assigned to receive one of the five probiotic preparations for a duration of five days - this group was called the intervention group. Another group of children received an oral rehydration; this was called the control group.

The products used were the most popular ones in the Italian market at the time, where they could only be purchased in pharmacies.

The researchers monitored the duration of the children’s diarrhea, as well as the daily number and consistency of stools (primary outcomes). They also monitored duration of vomiting, fever and hospital admission rates (secondary outcomes). Tolerance and safety were also recorded.

Primary outcomes - The researchers found that the only probiotic preparation that fared better than the oral rehydration was a Lactobacillus GG with a mix of four bacterial strains.

Secondary outcomes were similar in all groups.

The authors explain that not all probiotic preparations that are commercially available are effective in treating children with acute diarrhea. They added that it was not a surprise that Lactobacillus GG was found to be effective, as previous studies had indicated so beforehand.

However, they were surprised to find that the Saccharomyces boulardii preparations were not effective as a previous study had indicated otherwise.

The report concludes that the efficacy of probiotic preparations for treating acute diarrhea in children is related to the individual strains of bacteria. Doctors should bear this in mind when selecting treatment.

“Probiotics for treatment of acute diarrhoea in children: randomised clinical trail of five different preparations”
BMJ Online First
http://www.bmj.com

Written by: Christian Nordqvist

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UK - Diarrhoea. USA - Diarrhea.
UK - Randomised, customised. USA - Randomized, customized.
UK - paediatrician. USA - pediatrician.

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