Diarrhoea recovery faster with probiotics
19 November 2010
Probiotic bacteria can effectively shorten the duration of acute infectious diarrhoea (diarrhoea caused by bacteria or viruses), experts say. However, clarification is still needed on which probiotic is best to use.
Probiotics are live 'friendly' bacteria, which are thought to have health benefits when taken by mouth. Many of the bacteria used as probiotics belong to the genus Lactobacillus, commonly found in yoghurt.
A Cochrane review of 63 studies, involving 8014 participants, concluded that used in conjunction with rehydration (fluid) therapy, probiotics reduced the duration of episodes of diarrhoea by an average of 25 hours and the risk of diarrhoea lasting 4 or more days by 59 per cent (Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010 (11): CD003048).
(Cochrane reviews are conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organisation aimed at helping people make well-informed decisions about healthcare by undertaking scientific reviews of evidence for certain treatments.)
Most of the trials were in infants and young children, with no significant adverse events recorded in any age group.
However, researchers found there was marked variability between the study findings and while the results were "very encouraging", more research was needed to identify which probiotics should be used in particular groups of people.
Last Reviewed: 19 November 2010
- Allen SJ, Martinez EG, Gregorio GV, Dans LF. Probiotics for treating acute infectious diarrhoea. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010 (11): CD003048. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003048.pub3. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/o/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD003048/frame.html (accessed 19 Nov 2010).
