BACKGROUND: Diarrhea is one of the most common adverse effects of antibiotic treatment. In Saint Louis University-Hospital of the Sacred Heart (SLU-HSH), about three out of ten patients at the outpatient department and one third of admitted pediatric patients are given antibiotics. Although international studies document the efficacy of probiotics in preventing antibiotic associated diarrhea (AAD), there is limited research in our country about this.

OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a yeast probiotic, Saccharomyces boulardii, in preventing AAD.

METHODS: This was a randomized clinical trial conducted between June and October 2012 at Saint Louis University-Hospital of the Sacred Heart. A total of 140 patients aged 6months to 18years with PCAP were enrolled. The patients either received the standard antibiotic treatment alone (control group n=71) or the oral antibiotic treatment plus 250mg of Saccharomyces boulardii (treatment group n=69) twice a day for the entire duration of treatment. Analyses were based on treatment and included data from 136 patients.

RESULTS: Patients who received S. boulardii had shorter duration of diarrhea than those who did not receive it [3.06 days (0.68) vs. 2.45 days (0.69), P value of 0.032]. However, the incidence of diarrhea between the two groups was not statistically significant [16 of 68 (23.5%) vs. 11 of 66 (16.7%), P value of 0.391].

CONCLUSION: This is the first randomized-controlled trial in our locality which showed evidence that S. boulardii shortens the duration of antibiotic-associated diarrhea.