title: Effects of probiotic intake and gender on nontyphoid Salmonella infection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of the study was to examine if intake of Lactobacillus plantarum can accelerate clearance of nontyphoid Salmonella and reduce infection-related symptoms.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Nontyphoid Salmonella is a major cause of gastroenteritis worldwide. Few studies have explored the effect of probiotics in these infections.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with Salmonella infection were randomized to daily intake of 5 × 10 colony forming units of freeze-dried Lactobacillus plantarum 299 v or placebo. Symptoms were recorded daily. Feces were cultured weekly. Treatment continued until 4 consecutive stool cultures negative for Salmonella had been obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The treatment and placebo groups did not differ significantly with regard to time to clearance of Salmonella, or time to resolution of symptoms. Irrespective of treatment, women tended to clear Salmonella more rapidly than men (19 vs. 28 d, P=0.18), despite a longer diarrheal phase (5 vs. 3 days after inclusion, P=0.001). After Salmonella clearance (postinfectious phase), women experienced loose stools, nausea, and flatulence more frequently than men. In women, L. plantarum treatment was associated with more abdominal pain, whereas in men L. plantarum treatment reduced the prevalence of hard stools, and increased the presence of diarrheal symptoms in the postinfectious phase.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gender, but not administration of the probiotic strain L. plantarum 299 v, may influence acute symptoms during Salmonella infection and possibly clearance of Salmonella. Symptoms in the postinfectious phase were modified by the probiotics in a gender-specific way, but our results give little support for positive effects of L. plantarum 299 v treatment in nontyphoid salmonellosis.
authors.affiliation: Departments of *Infectious Diseases †Medicine, Gothenburg University, Göteborg ‡Department of Infectious diseases, Kärnsjukhuset Skövde, Skaraborgs Sjukhus, Skövde, Sweden.
authors.forename: Elisabet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lönnermark
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lappas
authors.forename: Vanda
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Friman
authors.forename: Agnes E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Wold
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Backhaus
authors.forename: Ingegerd
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Adlerberth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D048191:Lactiplantibacillus plantarum / Q000254:growth & development*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019936:Probiotics / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012475:Salmonella / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013548:Sweden; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult