A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Lactobacillus acidophilus for Treating Acute Gastroenteritis in Children
What this study found
Overall, Lactobacillus acidophilus was associated with a shorter duration of diarrhea in children with acute gastroenteritis. The pooled effect for diarrhea duration was MD -0.69 days, 95% CI -1.04 to -0.33 across 15 RCTs, but heterogeneity was substantial (I2 = 94%). Benefit appeared greater when Lactobacillus acidophilus was combined with other probiotic strains (MD -0.91 days, 95% CI -1.23 to -0.59) and at daily doses of at least 10^9 CFU/day; low-dose regimens <10^9 CFU were not beneficial. Diarrhea frequency was less consistently improved, with a day 3 reduction of MD -0.61 days, 95% CI…
- Study & population
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of 15 randomized controlled trials including 1,765 children with acute gastroenteritis.
- Intervention
- Lactobacillus acidophilus was given as an oral probiotic added to standard rehydration therapy, compared with placebo or no probiotic treatment.
- Key limitation
- Evidence quality was moderate to low, and between-study heterogeneity was very high.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
The efficacy of probiotic strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus to manage acute gastroenteritis in children is still not established. We searched the Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, and three Chinese literature databases (CNKI, WanFang, and CBM) from their inception to February 2021 for RCTs that compared the use of Lactobacillus acidophilus with no Lactobacillus acidophilus. The grey literature was searched through Google Scholar. Authors of the original papers were contacted for additional data. The study included a total of 15 RCTs involving 1765 patients. Compared with placebo or no treatment, Lactobacillus acidophilus was associated with a reduced duration of diarrhea (moderate quality of evidence), but the effect was not statistically significant when only the individual probiotic strain was provided. Lactobacillus acidophilus was effective when used at a daily dose ≥ 109 CFU. There was no difference in the effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus on diarrhea duration among Asian, European, or American countries. Lactobacillus acidophilus reduced the frequency of diarrhea on day 2 to day 5. However, it was statistically significant on day 3. When administered at a dosage of more than 109 CFU to children with acute gastroenteritis, moderate- to low-quality data showed that Lactobacillus acidophilus reduced the duration of diarrhea and conferred a benefit for frequency of diarrhea.