Facts
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In the Netherlands, about half of all young children are prescribed at least one course of antibiotics every year
Children who receive probiotics at the same time as a course of antibiotics have 35% less diarrhea. This is apparent from an international study by doctors from the Emma Children’s Hospital of Amsterdam UMC, the OLVG and Polish physician researchers. The results were published today in JAMA Pediatrics.
350 children from the Netherlands and Poland, aged 3 months to 18 years, participated in the study. All children received antibiotics because of an infection. Half took probiotics at the same time, the other half took a placebo. The parents or the child (depending on the age) recorded the consistency of the stools daily. The researchers also collected poo samples (some poo) from all children, before and after the treatment.
The results showed that the children in the probiotics group had 35% less frequent diarrhea than in the control group. The researchers found more often the rotavirus in the faeces of the control group, which is known to cause diarrhoea. It is unclear whether this was a coincidence, or whether the probiotics have an inhibitory effect on the rotavirus. If the researchers did not include the patients with rotavirus in their faeces, there was no longer a clear difference in diarrhea between the 2 groups. Researcher Thomas Dierikx: “It is therefore important to further investigate the mechanism by which probiotics can prevent diarrhoea.”
Bacteria disturbed
In the Netherlands, about half of all young children are prescribed at least one course of antibiotics each year. Such a course causes diarrhea in a third of these children. Dierikx: “Trillions of bacteria live in our gut. We also call this the microbiome or gut flora. Antibiotics destroy the intestinal flora. We know from other studies that such a disrupted microbiome increases the risk of chronic conditions such as asthma, allergies and obesity. Preventing such a disturbance can therefore yield real health benefits. This study provides clues on how we can achieve that.”
The probiotic given to the children in this study consisted of 8 different strains of bacteria found in the healthy microbiome. In a follow-up study, the researchers will analyze the collected faecal samples to find out the protective mechanism of probiotics. The children will be followed for another year and examined for chronic conditions.
Not reimbursed
Probiotics are not prescribed as standard with antibiotics and are not reimbursed by the insurer.
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https://www.amsterdamumc.org/nl/vandaag/probiotica-beschermen-kinderen-die-antibiotica-slikken-tegen-diarree.htm - Original title:
Probiotics protect children who take antibiotics against diarrhea - Target audience:
Healthcare professionals - Datum:
2022-06-24