BFF-55 Probiotics are no help to kids with stomach flu: studies

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BFF-55

HEALTH-CHILDREN-RESEARCH-PROBIOTICS

Probiotics are no help to kids with stomach flu: studies

TAMPA, Nov 22, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Probiotics are a multibillion dollar
international industry, but new research Wednesday showed they don’t help
children recover from stomach flu any better than a placebo.

The results of two randomized clinical trials — which came to the same
conclusions — were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“Probiotics had no effect on the children,” said co-author Phillip Tarr, a
professor of pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis, adding that
the findings were “not ambiguous.”

“Parents are better off saving their money and using it to buy more fresh
fruits and vegetables for their children.”

Probiotics are surging in popularity, with the global market predicted to
expand from $37 billion in 2015 to $64 billion by 2023, according to the
report.

Five of 12 leading medical groups worldwide currently endorse their use,
as a way to promote gut health by restoring intestinal flora, building up so-
called “good bacteria” in children’s bodies.

Those recommending probiotics include the European Society for Pediatric
Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Medical Center, the Malaysian Paediatric Association, the Royal Australian
College of General Practitioners and Ibero-Latin American Clinical Practice.

For one of the studies, which took place in the United States, researchers
tested a popular brand of probiotics, sold under the name Culturelle.

A total of 971 children between three months and four years old were
enrolled in the study.

All sought emergency room care for gastroenteritis, an intestinal
infection that could be caused by a virus or a bacterial infection — with
symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea.

The children were randomly assigned to either receive a five-day course of
a placebo or Culturelle, which contains the bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus
GG.

A pack of 30, promoted as a “number one pediatrician-recommended daily
probiotic,” costs around $20.

But researchers found that kids who took the probiotic showed no
difference in the length of illness or the severity of symptoms, compared to
kids given a sugar pill.

– A ‘clear message ‘ –

The second study, carried out in Canada, used a product called Lacidofil
Strong, containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus R0011 and L. helveticus R0052.

More than 800 children were randomized to receive either a five-day course
of the probiotic, or a placebo.

The difference was so slight, researchers said it was not statistically
significant.

“Moderate-to-severe gastroenteritis within 14 days after enrollment
occurred in 108 of 414 participants (26.1 percent) who were assigned to
probiotics and 102 of 413 participants (24.7 percent) who were assigned to
placebo,” said the report.

The group that received probiotics did not experience less vomiting or
diarrhea, shorter length of illness, fewer follow up visits to doctors or any
fewer complications.

The latest findings against probiotics are in line with at least one
smaller, earlier study.

But most studies to date have been generally favorable to probiotics.

Co-author Stephen Freedman, pediatric emergency medicine physician with
Alberta Health Services, said that is because most of these studies have been
small and industry funded.

The new duo of randomized clinical trials, “taken together, are very
powerful,” he said.

“The findings show that children treated with probiotics have the exact
same outcomes across a large range of symptoms, as those given placebo,” he
added.

“The results deliver a clear message that we need to question the role and
benefits of probiotics for other health applications using large, patient
oriented, rigorous clinical trials.”

BSS/AFP/BZC/1905HRS