Yogurt for treating antibiotic-associated diarrhea: Systematic review and meta-analysis

  • Bernadeta Patro-Golab
  • , Raanan Shamir
  • , Hania Szajewska*
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) is a common complication in individuals treated with antibiotics. The aim of this review was to systematically evaluate the efficacy of yogurt consumption for the prevention of AAD. Methods: In this systematic review, a number of databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library, with no language restrictions, were searched up to September 2014 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effect of yogurt consumption in adults and children who were receiving antibiotics. The risk for bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results: Two RCTs, both low in methodological quality, were included. Compared with no intervention, yogurt consumption reduced the risk for diarrhea in the fixed effect model (two RCTs, n = 314, relative risk [RR], 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.31-1.00). Significant heterogeneity between the trials was detected (I 2 = 67%). The significant reduction in the risk for diarrhea was lost in the random effects model (RR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.11-1.75). Conclusions: Given the simple nature of the intervention, the scarcity of data is noteworthy. No consistent effect of yogurt consumption for preventing AAD was shown. However, the data are limited and the included trials had methodological limitations. Results from large, rigorously designed RCTs are needed to assess the effect of yogurt consumption on AAD prevention.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)796-800
Number of pages5
JournalNutrition
Volume31
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jun 2015

Funding

Funders
Danone International Institute

    Keywords

    • Cultured milk products
    • Diarrhea
    • Fermented products

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