Original ArticleLack of Effect of Lactobacillus GG on Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Section snippets
Study Population
This study was a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Patients were potentially eligible for the study if they were admitted to a general internal medicine inpatient service at Saint Marys Hospital, a 1157-bed tertiary care hospital in Rochester, Minn, from July 1, 1998, to October 31, 1999, and received an intravenous or oral antibacterial agent for a presumed or proved infection. Exclusion criteria included treatment with an antibiotic for more than 24 hours prior
Participant Flow and Follow-up
Patient flow is summarized in Figure 1, and baseline characteristics are summarized in Table 1.
Over the 16-month study period, 2967 patients were screened by the study nurse as potential candidates for this study. Of the 2967 patients screened, 2618 met 1 or more exclusion criteria, 47 did not wish to participate, and 302 met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate. Of the 302 patients who consented to participate, 34 failed to complete the study, and 1 patient enrolled but
DISCUSSION
This study differs from previous studies of AAD in that it is a large, prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in adult patients with sufficient statistical power to detect a clinically significant effect of Lactobacillus GG in the prevention of AAD.
In this study, we found that coadministration of Lactobacillus GG at a dose of 20 x 109 CFU/d to hospitalized adults being treated with a variety of antimicrobial agents (β-lactam or non-β-lactam) was not effective in preventing AAD
CONCLUSION
Lactobacillus GG in a dose of 20 × 109 CFU/d did not reduce the rate of occurrence of AAD in this sample of 267 initially hospitalized adult patients prescribed antibiotics for a variety of infectious diseases. Further stratification by use of β-lactams at enrollment and compliance with study medication did not result in any significant differences. No difference was seen between the groups with respect to consistency or frequency of stools.
The study included too few patients with stool
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2017, Pediatric Clinics of North AmericaCitation Excerpt :However, there are also data that do not suggest a true benefit. One study administered a combination of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, which was not effective in preventing AAD in children who were taking amoxicillin.81,82 In an adult study by the Mayo Clinic, Lactobacillus GG was equivalent to placebo for preventing diarrhea in hospitalized adults on antibiotics.
Timely Use of Probiotics in Hospitalized Adults Prevents Clostridium difficile Infection: A Systematic Review With Meta-Regression Analysis
2017, GastroenterologyCitation Excerpt :Four probiotic species were studied (Lactobacillus, Saccharomyces, Bifidobacterium, and Streptococcus), either alone or in combination, for 12 unique probiotic formulations (Table 1). Five trials studied S boulardii in capsule formulation,33–37 3 trials evaluated L rhamnosus GG dispensed by capsule,32,38 1 trial investigated L acidophilus in capsule formulation,39 and 1 trial used drink formulation of L casei Shirota.40 Two trials studied more than 1 strain of Lactobacillus administered by capsule.30,41
This study was supported in part by a grant from ConAgra Foods, Inc, Omaha, Neb.
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Dr Corr is now with the Riverside Medical Clinic, Riverside, Calif.