Clinical Efficacy of Use of Probiotics in Children with Acute Watery Diarrhea

Abstract

watery diarrhea in children aged 6 months to 5 years, at H.H Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Hospital/Combined Military Hospital, Muzaffarabad. Methodology: The Randomized Controlled Trial was done at Pediatric department, H.H Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Hospital/CMH, Muzaffarabad from January 2020 to December 2021. All patients aged 6 months to 5 years with acute watery diarrhea who present with severe, minimal, or no dehydration within the first five days of illness were included. Children meeting the inclusion criteria were consecutively enrolled and randomly assigned to either the study group (ORS plus oral administration of Saccharomyces Boulardii) or the control group (ORS alone). From day 1 to day 5, the quantity and consistency of feces were counted. On day 5, clinical effectiveness was indicated by 3 stools or fewer per day. SPSS version 26 was used for data analysis. Results: Of 252 patients, a significant mean difference of number of stools and consistency was observed on day 3, day 4, and day 5 (p:<0.005). A significant association of efficacy was observed with probiotic group (p: 0.021). After adjustment for other covariates, efficacy was 2.37 times higher among children who were in probiotic group as compared to control group (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.07-5.24, p: 0.033). The efficacy was 3.23 times higher among children with age ?3 years than children with age >3 years (aOR 3.23, 95% CI 1.32-7.91, p: 0.010). The efficacy was 94% lower among children without dehydration (aOR 0.06, 95% CI 0.01-0.52, p: 0.011) and 91% lower among children with some dehydration (aOR: 0.09, 95% CI 0.01-0.77, p: 0.028). Conclusion: The efficacy of probiotics was observed to be higher in treatment of acute watery diarrhea in hospitalized children. Probiotics, when used as an adjunct to standard therapy, may be beneficial in reducing the severity and duration of diarrhea, potentially leading to improved clinical outcomes.