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Published on: January 27, 2019

A randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of lactobacillus GG in infantile diarrhea

Sudipta Misra1, Tapas K Sabui, Nishith K Pal

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, UIC College of Medicine at Peoria, Children's Medical Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912, USA. smisra@mcg.edu

The Journal of Pediatrics
|June 30, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG did not reduce diarrhea duration or stool frequency in hospitalized infants in India. This probiotic intervention showed no significant benefit over placebo in the study population.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Microbiology
  • Gastroenterology

Background:

  • Acute diarrhea is a leading cause of infant hospitalization in low-resource settings.
  • Probiotics are explored for managing pediatric infectious diarrhea.
  • Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG is a well-studied probiotic strain.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG in treating acute diarrhea in hospitalized Indian infants.
  • To compare the duration of diarrhea and stool frequency between probiotic and placebo groups.

Main Methods:

  • Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
  • 229 infants hospitalized for acute diarrhea in rural India.
  • 10-day course of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG or placebo.

Main Results:

  • No significant difference in diarrhea duration between Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and placebo groups.
  • No significant difference in stool frequency on days 3, 6, or 10 of treatment.
  • Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG did not demonstrate a clinical benefit in this cohort.

Conclusions:

  • Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG supplementation was not effective in reducing the duration or severity of acute diarrhea in hospitalized Indian infants.
  • Further research may be needed to explore probiotic efficacy in different pediatric populations or settings.

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