Efficacy and safety of probiotics as adjunctive therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection in children：a systematic review

Abstract:

Objective：To evaluate the effect of the probiotics as adjunctive therapy on the eradication rate and side effects of anti-He－licobacter pylori（H.pylori） eradication treatment in children. Methods：All randomized controlled trials（RCTs） comparing probiotics supplementation with placebo or no extra intervention during anti-H.pylori regimens in children were systematically searched from the databases of PubMed，Embase，Cochrane Controlled Trials Register（CCTR），Web of Science，CNKI，VIP and Wangfang（from their in－ception to October 2013）. The qualities of included RCTs were evaluated and the Meta analysis was conducted by means of RevMan 5.2. Results：Eleven randomized controlled trials with 769 cases were enrolled in the analysis. The eradication rates（RR=1.20，95%CI=1.10 to 1.30，P=0.000） and the total occurrence of side effects（RR=0.44，95%CI=0.26 to 0.73，P=0.001） were significantly better in the treatment group（using probiotics combinded with anti-H.pylori eradication therapy） than in control group（using anti-H.pylori eradication therapy alone）. Moreover，the incidences of diarrhea，nausea and vomiting were significantly lower in treatment group than in control group（RR=0.27，95%CI=0.14 to 0.52，P=0.000；RR=0.47，95%CI=0.24 to 0.93，P=0.030）. Conclusion：The probiotics sup－plementation is effective not only in increasing the eradication rate of anti-H.pylori eradication treatment in children but also in alle－viating anti-H.pylori therapy related side effects.