Probiotics and prebiotics in infectious gastroenteritis

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Microbiology
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a significant global health issue in children, causing substantial morbidity and mortality in developing nations and high socioeconomic impact elsewhere.
• Oral rehydration solutions (ORS) and early refeeding are standard treatments but do not reduce diarrhea duration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics in managing and preventing acute gastroenteritis in pediatric populations.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing evidence on the use of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics for acute gastroenteritis.
• Analysis of studies focusing on duration of illness, hospitalization, and prevention of AGE.

Main Results:

• Selected probiotic strains and synbiotics significantly decrease the duration of AGE by approximately 24 hours in both outpatient and inpatient settings.
• Probiotics and synbiotics also reduce hospitalization duration, while prebiotics alone show no efficacy.
• Neither prebiotics nor probiotics demonstrate significant efficacy in preventing AGE.

Conclusions:

• Clinically tested probiotics and synbiotics are effective adjuncts to ORS for reducing the duration of pediatric AGE and hospitalization.
• Prebiotics are not effective for managing or preventing AGE.
• The administration of these agents is considered safe, even in newborns, but only clinically validated products should be recommended.