Prophylactic Lactobacillus GGReduces Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea in Children With Respiratory Infections: A Randomized Study

作者：Taina Arvola, Kirsi Laiho, Sari Torkkeli, Hannu M Mykkänen, Seppo Salminen, Leena Maunula, Erika Isolauri · 发表于：PEDIATRICS · 年份：1999 · DOI：10.1542/peds.104.5.e64 · 被引用次数：432 · 研究领域：Probiotics and Fermented Foods、Gut microbiota and health、Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens research

Objectives. Antimicrobial treatment may disturb the colonization resistance of gastrointestinal microflora, which may induce clinical symptoms, most commonly diarrhea. The severity of antibiotic-associated diarrhea may range from a brief, self-limiting disease to devastating diarrhea with electrolyte disturbances, dehydration, crampy abdominal pain, pseudomembranous colitis, toxic megacolon, or even death. The incidence of diarrhea in children receiving a single antimicrobial treatment is unclear. In addition to more critical use of antimicrobials, adjunctive preventive measures to antibiotic-associated diarrhea are needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of diarrhea after antimicrobial treatment in children with no history of antimicrobial use during the previous 3 months. Another aim of this study was to assess the preventive potential of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (Lactobacillus GG; American Type Culture Collection 53103), a probiotic strain with a documented safety record and a therapeutic effect in viral gastroenteritis on antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Methods. Oral antimicrobial agents were prescribed for the treatment of acute respiratory infections at the clinics of the Health Care Center of the City of Tampere or Tampere University Hospital, Finland, to 167 patients who were invited to participate in the study. Of the patients, 48 were lost to follow-up; therefore, the final study population consisted of 119 children from 2 weeks to 12.8 y...