Authors: Conway, Shaun¹; Hart, Andrew²; Clark, Allan²; Harvey, Ian²

Source: British Journal of General Practice, Volume 57, Number 545, December 2007 , pp. 953-959(7)

Abstract:

Background: Probiotic capsules have been shown to reduce the incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in a number of settings. If probiotic yogurt were equally efficacious then it would provide a simple and cost-effective means of preventing antibiotic-associated diarrhoea.

Aim: To investigate whether eating live bio yogurt at the time of taking oral antibiotics can prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhoea.

Design of study: This study was a three-arm (bio yogurt, commercial yogurt, no yogurt) randomised controlled trial with double blinding between the two yogurt arms.

Setting: A single primary care general practice surgery in Hingham, Norfolk. The study population included all ages except babies.

Method: Patients aged over 1 year who required a 1-week course of antibiotics were included in the study. There was complete follow up for 369 patients. The intervention was the consumption of 150 ml of live strawberry-flavoured yogurt for 12 days, starting on the first day of taking the antibiotic. Diarrhoea was defined as 'three or more loose stools per day over at least 2 consecutive days' within 12 days of starting the antibiotics.

Results: Of the 120 patients in the no-yogurt group, 17 (14%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 9.0 to 21.5) developed diarrhoea. Of the 118 given commercial yogurt, 13 (11%, 95% CI = 6.6 to 17.9) developed diarrhoea; nine of the 131 patients (7%; 95% CI = 3.7 to 12.5) given bio yogurt developed diarrhoea (P = 0.17).

Conclusion: Overall, this study failed to demonstrate that yogurt has any effect on antibiotic-associated diarrhoea.

Keywords: ADVERSE EFFECTS; ANTIBIOTIC; DIARRHOEA; PROBIOTIC; YOGURT

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.3399/096016407782604811

Affiliations: 1: The Surgery, Hingham 2: School of Health Policy and Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich

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