Efficacy of Lactobacillus Acidophilus in Treatment of Acute Diarrhea in Children / 대한소아소화기영양학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Acute diarrhea in young children is a major problem in pediatric hospitals worldwide. We evaluated the clinical efficacy of orally administered Lactobacillus acidophilus in the treatment of acute diarrhea in children. METHODS: From September 2002 to July 2003 at National Police Hospital 41 children aged 3 months to 5 years with acute diarrhea were enrolled in this study. The patients were randomized to one of two groups to receive either 0.5 x 10(8) colony forming unit (CFU) of L. acidophilus or matching placebo on admission and every 8 hours during hospitalization. RESULTS: The mean duration of diarrhea in all 41 children was decreased (p=0.001) in the L. acidophilus (40.5 hours) group compared to the placebo (56.6 hours) group. Stool frequency was also reduced (p=0.01) on the 3rd day in the L. acidophilus group. Rotavirus was identified in 58% of the patients. The decrease of duration of diarrhea was more significant in rotavirus-negative patients (p=0.002) compared to the rotavirus-positive patients (p=0.027). CONCLUSION: L. acidophilus shows to be an effective therapeutic agent in acute diarrhea in children. Further studies are needed to confirm the present findings.