Does eating yogurt prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhoea? A placebo-controlled randomised controlled trial in general practice.
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.


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


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


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


METHODS
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).


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, this study failed to demonstrate that yogurt has any effect on antibiotic-associated diarrhoea.
Conway
Shaun
S
The Surgery, Hingham. shaun.conway@nhs.net
Hart
Andrew
A
Clark
Allan
A
Harvey
Ian
I
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000517:prevention & control; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015014:Yogurt
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents