Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) frequently complicates treatment of infections. A recent randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial tested a proprietary probiotic mixture and found that it reduced the incidence of AAD by 16%. This is encouraging for patients, but future progress on prob …

Some probiotics may be beneficial in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but differences in species and strains used, as well as endpoints reported, have hampered attempts to make specific recommendations as to which should be preferred. We updated our previous meta-analysis examining this issue.

Learn about the best probiotics for IBS, Diverticulitis, Diverticulosis, Ulcerative Colitis, and Clostridium difficile infection.

Background Probiotics are effective for treating acute infectious diarrhoea caused by bacteria, but there are inconsistent results for the effectiveness of probiotics for diarrhoea caused by viruses. In this article we want to determine whether Sb supplementation has an effect on acute inflammatory viral diarrhoea diagnosed with the multiplex panel PCR test. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Saccharomyces boulardii (Sb) as a treatment in patients diagnosed with viral acute diarrhoea. Methods From February 2021 to December 2021, 46 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of viral acute diarrhoea diagnosed with the polymerase chain reaction multiplex assay were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. Patients received paracetamol 500 mg as a standard analgesic and 200 mg of Trimebutine as an antispasmodic treatment plus 600 mg of Sb (n = 23, 1 × 109/100 mL Colony forming unit) or a placebo (n = 23) orally once daily for eight days. The improvement in and severity of symptoms were measured using a symptom diary, the Patient Global Impression and the Patient Global Impression of Change scales (days 4 and 8), both answered and recorded by the patient. Results Of the 46 patients who completed treatment, 24 (52%) were men and 22 (48%) were women. The average age was 35.6 ± 12.28 years (range 18 to 61 years). The average duration of the evolution of illness at the time of diagnosis was 0.85 ± 0.73 days (maximum 2 days). On day 4 after the diagnosis, 20% reported pain and 2% reported fever, but on day 8, no patient reported pain or fever. On day 4, 70% of patients in the Sb group and 26% in the placebo group reported improvement (P = 0.03), based on the Patients’ Global Impression of Change scale, which assesses patient’s rating of overall improvement. These findings suggest that 3 to 4 days of treatment with Sb helped to improve symptoms of diarrhoea caused by a virus. Conclusion Treatment with Sb on acute inflammatory diarrhoea of viral aetiology shows no changes regarding the severity of the symptoms; nevertheless, it seems to impact improvement positively. Trial registration 22CEI00320171130 dated on 16/12/2020, NCT05226052 dated on 07/02/2022.

Advances in Therapy - The gut microbiota is intrinsically linked to human health; disturbances in microbial homeostasis are implicated in both intestinal and extraintestinal disorders. Probiotics...

Individuals in a study who received the food with BB-12 probiotic retained beneficial metabolites produced by the microbiota.