Review suggests that children who take probiotics are less likely to be prescribed antibiotics

A new review of 12 randomised, controlled studies published in the European Journal of Public Health found that infants and children who took a daily probiotic supplement were 29% less likely to be prescribed antibiotics.  In some of the studies this figure rose to 53%.  

All studies investigated the effects of daily doses of probiotics administered to children and infants and acute infections needing antibiotic treatment.  The controlled trials looked at two different strains of bacteria, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. 

Senior investigator Dr. Daniel Merenstein, from the Department of Family Medicine in Washington D.C. believes the results could have far reaching implications, “Given this finding, potentially one way to reduce the use of antibiotics is to use probiotics on a regular basis.”