Clinical effect of probiotics in the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in elderlies

Objective To evaluate the prophylactic use of probiotics(Golden Bifid) in the elderly with antibiotic-associated diarrhea.Methods 55 elderly patients accepted antibiotic treatment from May 2010 to February 2013 were included and randomly divided into 2 groups: prevention group(n = 28) was treated with live combined Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus(Golden Bifid),4 tablets tid for 7-10 days,while the control group(n = 27) was treated with Smecta 3.76 g tid.The two groups were observed for antibiotic-associated diarrhea;their intestinal microflora were analysed.Results The incidence rate,frequency,and duration of diarrhea in prevention group were significantly different from those in the control group(P 0.05).No abnormal results of stool culture and conventional examination of diarrhea patients in two groups were observed;fecal smear showed reduced bacterial counts or abnormal ratio of bacillus to coccus.In prevention group,the bacillu / coccus ratio was reversed and bacterial count decreased;the number of fungal infections cases was significantly different from that of the control group(P 0.05).Conclusion Live combined Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus(Golden Bifid) can prevent and reduce the occurrence of antibiotic associated diarrhea in the elderly,and alleviate the symptoms of diarrhea.