Bifidobacterium longum PL03, Lactobacillus rhamnosus KL53A, and Lactobacillus plantarum PL02 in the Prevention of Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea in Children: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

Vol. 78, No. 1, 2008

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Original Paper

Bifidobacterium longum PL03, Lactobacillus rhamnosus KL53A, and Lactobacillus plantarum PL02 in the Prevention of Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea in Children: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial
Henryk Szyma nacute ski^a, Ma lstrok gorzata Arma nacute ska^b, Kinga Kowalska-Duplaga^c, Hania Szajewska^d

^aDepartment of Pediatrics, St. Hedwig of Silesia Hospital, Trzebnica,
^bDepartment of Pediatrics, District Hospital, Kielce,
^cDepartment of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Polish-American Children's Hospital, Jagiellonian University, Cracow, and
^d2nd Department of Pediatrics, The Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

Address of Corresponding Author

Digestion 2008;78:13-17 (DOI: 10.1159/000151300)

Key Words

Probiotics
Microbiota
Antibiotic-associated diarrhea
Randomized control trial

Abstract

Aim: To determine the efficacy of a combination of Bifidobacterium longum PL03, Lactobacillus rhamnosus KL53A and Lactobacillus plantarum PL02 for the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in children. Methods: Seventy-eight children (age: 5 months to 16 years) with otitis media, and/or respiratory tract infections, and/or urinary tract infections were enrolled in a double-blind randomized control trial in which they received standard antibiotic treatment plus a food supplement containing 10⁸ colony-forming units of B. longum, L. rhamnosus and L. plantarum (n = 40) or a placebo (n = 38) orally twice daily for the duration of antibiotic treatment. Results: Patients receiving probiotics had a similar rate of diarrhea (3 loose or watery stools/day for 48 h occurring during or up to 2 weeks after the antibiotic therapy) as those receiving placebo (relative risk 0.5, 95% CI 0.06-3.5). The mean number of stools per day was significantly lower in the experimental group (mean difference -0.3 stool/day, 95% CI -0.5 to -0.07). No adverse events were reported. Conclusion: The administration of the 3 probiotics did not significantly alter the rate of diarrhea, although it reduced the frequency of stools per day. As the overall frequency of diarrhea was surprisingly low, these results should be interpreted with caution.

Author Contacts

H. Szajewska, MD
The 2nd Department of Pediatrics
The Medical University of Warsaw
PL-01-184 Warsaw, Dzialdowska 1 (Poland)
Tel./Fax +48 22 452 33 09, E-Mail hania@ipgate.pl

Article Information

Received: January 11, 2008
Accepted: March 28, 2008
Published online: August 14, 2008
Number of Print Pages : 5
Number of Figures : 2, Number of Tables : 2, Number of References : 16

Medline Abstract (ID 18701826)

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