Abstract
Objective: To compare the effectiveness of probiotics
plus antibiotics versus antibiotic alone in children
presenting with acute diarrhea at nutritional
stabilization center, Hyderabad.
Methodology: This comparative cross-sectional study
was done at Nutritional Stabilization Center,
Department of Pediatrics, Hyderabad from 1st July to
31st December 2018. A total of 192 children having
severe acute malnutrition presenting with acute
diarrhea were enrolled and randomly allocated into
two groups. In group A, 96 children were treated with
probiotics along with antibiotic, while in the group B,
96 children were treated with antibiotic alone.
Children in each group were daily assessed for the
resolution or continuation of diarrhea till 72 hours after
treatment.
Results: The average age of the children was 21.73 ±
13.14 months. Effectiveness of treatment was
significantly high in group A as compared to group B
[90.6% vs. 78.1%; p = 0.017].
Conclusion: The results of our study support using
probiotics along with antibiotics for the treatment of
acute diarrhea in children with severe acute
malnutrition.
Keywords: Severe acute malnutrition, diarrhea,
probiotics, antibiotics.
