Probiotics in the prevention and treatment of acute infectious diarrhea in children

Probiotics are live microbial food supplements (bacteria, yeast) with a beneficial effect on health. They have been studied mainly for the prevention and treatment of acute infectious diarrhea in children. In recent years there have been preliminary reports that probiotic bacteria may also play a role in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases as well as allergic conditions. Most randomized controlled clinical studies as well as a recently published meta-analysis and a systematic review confirm a modest but significant effect of probiotics, in particular of Lactobacillus GG, in the treatment of acute infectious diarrhea in children. However, it is premature to give practical recommendations for the use of probiotics for several reasons such as limited numbers of controlled studies as well as heterogeneity concerning study design and probiotic strains.