Effect of Probiotics on Symptoms in Korean Adults with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
- Author:
Kyoung Sup HONG
1
;
Hyoun Woo KANG
;
Jong Pil IM
;
Geun Eog JI
;
Sang Gyun KIM
;
Hyun Chae JUNG
;
In Sung SONG
;
Joo Sung KIM
Author Information
- Publication Type:Randomized Controlled Trial ; Original Article ; Controlled Clinical Trial
- Keywords: Probiotics; Irritable bowel syndrome; Bifidobacterium bifidum
- MeSH: Abdominal Pain; Adult; Bacteria; Bifidobacterium; Defecation; Flatulence; Humans; Irritable Bowel Syndrome; Lactobacillus acidophilus; Probiotics; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life; Rome
- From:Gut and Liver 2009;3(2):101-107
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: BACKGROUND/AIMS: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a troublesome disease. Some strains of probiotics reportedly exert remarkable immunomodulatory effects, and so we designed a prospective double-blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical study to assess their effects in Korean adults with IBS. METHODS: IBS patients who met Rome III criteria were randomly assigned to receive composite probiotics or placebo. A total of 20 billion lyophilized bacteria were administered twice daily for 8 weeks. Primary outcome variables were symptom scores consisting of abdominal pain, flatulence, defecation discomfort, and sum of symptom scores. A visual analogue scale was used to quantify the severity. Secondary outcome variables consisted of the quality of life and bowel habits including defecation frequency and stool form. RESULTS: Thirty-six and 34 patients were randomized to the probiotics and placebo groups, respectively. Intention- to-treat analysis showed significant reductions in pain after 8 weeks of treatment: -31.9 and -17.7 in the probiotics and placebo groups, respectively (p=0.045). The reductions in abdominal pain, defecation discomfort, and sum of scores were more significant in 58 patients with a score of at least 3 on the baseline stool-form scale. CONCLUSIONS: Composite probiotics containing Bifidobacterium bifidum BGN4, Lactobacillus acidophilus AD031, and other species are safe and effective, especially in patients who excrete normal or loose stools.
