The Journal of hospital infection
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Probiotic VSL#3 prevents antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (AAD) is a frequent complication of systemic antibiotic therapy and Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (CDAD) is its most serious form due to associated morbidity and mortality. ⋯ VSL#3 is associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of AAD in average-risk hospital inpatients exposed to systemic antibiotics. As the incidence of CDAD has fallen sharply, no cases of CDAD were found. Probiotic administration as prophylaxis for CDAD may not be indicated in average-risk hospital patients.