Probiotics do not improve the benefits of a hospital treatment protocol for acute diarrhea in the breastfed child.

Rationale: Probiotics have been used in the treatment of acute diarrhea occurring in pediatric ages with mixed results. Objective: To assess the impact of a probiotic (CFU per capsule: Lactobacillus rhamnosus G: 2 x 109, Lactobacillus cassei: 1 x 109, Bifidobacterium brevis: 2 x 109) upon the features and duration of acute diarrhea in breastfed children. Study location: Digestive Diseases and Nutrition Service, “Juan Manuel Márquez” Pediatric Teaching Hospital (Marianao, Havana City, Cuba). Study design: Open, quasi-experimental trial. Thirty children with ages < 2 years consecutively assisted in the service due to acute diarrhea (On admission: 5.7 ± 3.7 stools.day-1) received 1 probiotic capsule daily during 10 days. Impact of probiotic was measured from changes in body weight, hematological variables, and the features and days of duration of diarrheas. Effectiveness of administered probiotic was compared with that of the actions prescribed in institutional protocols. Results: Probiotics were not better than current therapeutical protocol for improving stool pattern of the breatsfed child: Reduction in the number of daily stools: Non-Treated: 100.0% vs. Treated: 90.0% (p > 0.05); Improvement of the features of stools: Non-Treated: 93.3% vs. Treated: 96.1% (p > 0.05). Use of probiotics produced an increase of Hemoglobin ( = -0.44; p < 0.05) and serum Iron ( = - 2.25; p < 0.05) basal values. Treatment with probiotics was also associated with mildly decreased (p > 0.05) values of indicators of systemic inflammatory response. Conclusions: Inclusion of probiotics within an institutional protocol for treatment of acute diarrhea does not significantly change the stool pattern of the breastfed child, but might reduce the systemic inflammatory tone which, in turn, would result in a better use of body iron