Effect of Bifidobacterium Breve PRL2020 (an Amoxicillin-clavulanate-resistant Strain) on Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Gut Microbiota Composition in Children Treated With Amoxicillin or Amoxicillin/Clavulanate

Effect of Bifidobacterium Breve PRL2020 (an Amoxicillin-Clavulanate-Resistant Strain) on Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Gut Microbiota Composition in Children Treated With Amoxicillin or Amoxicillin/Clavulanate: Results of a Pediatric, Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled, Prospective Study

Amoxicillin or Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid antibiotic therapy has been shown to be associated with disrupting the microbiota population particularly Bifidobacterium, which may have further GI clinical implications.

The present randomized clinical trial is aimed to assess if probiotic Bifidobacterium breve PRL2020 (Brevicillin®) can help modulate the Bifidobacterium population and its clinical implications after antibiotic Amoxicillin or Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid antibiotic therapy.

Treatment with Amoxicillin or Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid is one of the most common antibiotic therapies used against various infections both in children and adults. These antibiotics can create an imbalance in the intestinal microbiota, altering its structure with a reduction in bacterial richness and, more specifically, in the abundance of bifidobacteria. This opened the window for further evaluations of the effect of this antibiotic combination on the composition of gut microbiota. The alteration can lead to intestinal symptoms such as pain, bloating, abdominal distension, flatulence, diarrhea, and constipation. In study by L. Mancabelli et al. (2021), Bifidobacterium breve PRL2020 has shown greatest resistance to Amoxicillin and Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid. Currently available scientific data, however, have not yet analyzed the ability of B. breve PRL2020 to counteract the reduction of bifidobacteria that may occur in the human gut during the antibiotic therapy with Amoxicillin or Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid, and neither its ability to avoid the consequent clinical relapse.

The purpose of this randomized, controlled (untreated group), prospective, multicentre, single-center, non-profit study will be to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the administration of Bifidobacterium breve PRL2020 (Brevicillin®) in pediatric patients (> 3 -12 years of age), treated with the antibiotic Amoxicillin or Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid, in the improvement of the symptoms due to the pharmacological treatment and in the contrast of the fall of the Bifidobacterium cluster.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children aged between 3-12 years, of either gender, with a bacterial infection and the use of antibiotic therapy with Amoxicillin or Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid under a Physician's prescription.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of neurological, oncological (also past), malformative, and/or autoimmune pathology
• Suspected or presumed allergy to the substance contained in the probiotic formula
• Using any type of probiotic product in the three months before the enrollment or during the trial
• Lack of parental consent to participate in the study