Yogurt for treating antibiotic-associated diarrhea: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
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.
Department of Paediatrics, The Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
Bernadeta
B
Patro-Golab
Institute of Gastroenterology, Nutrition and Liver Diseases, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Sackler Faculty of Medicine Tel-Aviv University, Petach-Tikva, Israel.
Raanan
R
Shamir
Department of Paediatrics, The Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: Hania@ipgate.pl.
Hania
H
Szajewska
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D048668:Lactobacillus delbrueckii; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D048249:Streptococcus thermophilus; D015014:Yogurt / Q000382:microbiology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
Cultured milk products; Diarrhea; Fermented products