Research paper
Gastroenteritis Therapies in Developed Countries: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Study answer
What this study found
Probiotics did not show a reliable clinical benefit and are not supported for routine use in developed-country pediatric gastroenteritis. In pooled analyses, hospitalization within 7 days was not significantly reduced (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.26, 1.07), intravenous rehydration within 7 days was not reduced (RR 1.13, 95% CI 0.81, 1.57), and return to the emergency department within 7 days was not reduced (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.36, 1.67). Most probiotic comparisons were single-trial analyses, and the evidence base was low quality. By contrast, the broader review found better support for antiemetics and…
- Study & population
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of children under 18 years with gastroenteritis in developed countries, mainly in outpatient or emergency department settings.
- Intervention
- Probiotic products were evaluated as adjunctive therapy for pediatric gastroenteritis in outpatient and emergency department settings, generally compared with placebo.
- Key limitation
- The probiotic evidence was limited, low quality, and often based on single trials, which reduces confidence in the estimates.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Context Gastroenteritis remains a leading cause of childhood morbidity. Objective Because prior reviews have focused on isolated symptoms and studies conducted in developing countries, this study focused on interventions commonly considered for use i…