Probiotic therapy for the prevention and treatment of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea: a systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The recent increase in the number and severity of cases of nosocomial Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) has prompted interest in the use of probiotics for the prevention and treatment of this disease. We performed a systematic review of randomized controlled trials to assess the effectiveness of probiotic therapy.

Methods

We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, INAHTA, HEN and Cochrane Collaboration databases to identify trials in which the prevention or treatment of CDAD with probiotic therapy was the primary or secondary outcome. We extracted data on the number of patients randomly assigned to receive probiotic or placebo, the number of patients with CDAD, the type of probiotic, criteria for diagnosing CDAD, persistence of infection after treatment, compl

SUBMITTER: Dendukuri N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1174857 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature