Probiotics are living microorganisms that are good for your health. One of the conditions where probiotics can protect a macroorganism is diarrhea, which is a common complication that occurs when taking antibiotics.

In the United States, a systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the evidence for the effectiveness of probiotics in the prevention and treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD).

The search for relevant studies was carried out in 12 electronic databases (DARE, Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, CENTRAL, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, MANTIS, TOXLINE, ToxFILE, NTIS and AGRICOLA), as well as in bibliographic lists included in the meta-analysis of studies up to February 2012 without linguistic restrictions.

Two independent experts simultaneously identified randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of probiotics (Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Saccharomyces, Streptococcus , Enterococcus and / or Bacillus) used for the prevention and treatment of AMA, as well as for data extraction and quality assessment of the publication.

A total of 82 RCTs met the criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Most studies have used lactobacilli as monotherapy or in combination with other probiotic strains of microorganisms. In some cases, the strains used were not well documented. Combined data from 63 RCTs, which included a total of 11,811 participants, showed a statistically significant relationship between the appointment of probiotics and a decrease in the frequency of AMA (relative risk 0.58, 95% confidence interval 0.5-0.68, p less than 0.001); the indicator "the number of patients who must be treated to prevent 1 case of AAD" (number needed to treat - NNT) was 13 (95% confidence interval 10.3-19.1) in studies reporting the number of patients with advanced ADA. At the same time, there is significant heterogeneity in the combined results and there is insufficient evidence to determine whether this relationship varies depending on the population / category of patients who have used probiotics, the characteristics of the antibiotics used or the type of probiotic microorganisms assigned.

Thus, the combined data indicate that the use of probiotics leads to a decrease in blood pressure levels, but for the moment it is necessary to conduct well-organized studies to determine which specific probiotics are most effective and for which category of patients receiving certain antibiotics, the appointment of probiotics for the prevention of blood pressure is necessary..