Probiotics in the Management of Acute Rotavirus Diarrhea in Bolivian Children

Probiotics in the Management of Acute Rotavirus Diarrhea in Bolivian Children: Randomized Double-blind, Controlled Trial Using Two Different Preparations

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of probiotics in rotavirus acute diarrhea in children. The investigators will compare the effect of two different probiotics products.

Acute diarrhea remains being the second most frequent infectious condition in children, producing a high number of admissions yearly. In children below one year of age, rotavirus represents the main etiologic agent, both in developed and developing countries. In Bolivia, acute diarrhea affects about 30% of the group below 5 years of age. Probiotics appear as one of the alternatives currently under discussion. Also, evidence available suggests that probiotics shorten the time of diarrhea and therefore the time of rotavirus excretion. In daily practice, we are often limited by the type and number of probiotics products locally available; moreover, information about combined products is scarce. With this in mind, in this study we compared the efficacy of two commercially available products.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Positive stool sample for rotavirus test

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe malnourishment
• Severe dehydration
• Use of antibiotics, probiotics or nitazoxanide 2 weeks before admission
• Systemic infections
• Severe chronic disease
• Mixed enteric infections besides rotavirus