Premium
Systematic review with meta‐analysis: Probiotics for treating acute diarrhoea in children with dehydration
Author(s) -
Wu HaiLin,
Zhan Xue
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/jpc.15243
Subject(s) - medicine , meta analysis , placebo , confidence interval , cochrane library , strictly standardized mean difference , randomized controlled trial , dehydration , mean difference , diarrhea , medline , relative risk , alternative medicine , biochemistry , chemistry , pathology , political science , law
Aim This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of probiotics in treating children with acute diarrhoea and dehydration. Methods Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant studies and statistical analysis was performed. Results A total of 17 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving 2861 participants met the inclusion criteria. Compared with placebo, probiotics reduced the duration of diarrhoea (12 RCTs [15, 17], n = 1907, mean difference − 21.33 h, confidence interval (CI) −29.74 to −12.91, high heterogeneity, I 2 = 86%), the duration of hospitalisation when compared with placebo (eight RCTs [19, 20], n = 1606, mean difference − 0.83 days, CI −1.53 to −0.12, high heterogeneity, I 2 = 96%) and reduced risk of diarrhoea on day 4 or more days (six RCTs [19, 20], n = 1093, risk difference − 0.13, 95% CI −0.17– −0.09, no heterogeneity). Conclusions Probiotics alongside rehydration therapy appear to be safe and have clear beneficial effects in shortening the duration of diarrhoea in children with acute diarrhoea and dehydration.