Protective Effect of Enterococcus faecium SF68 and Saccharomyces boulardii in Acute Severe Diarrhea in Infants: Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objectives: This study was done to observe the effect of Enterococcus faecium SF68 and Saccharomyces boulardii in acute severe diarrhea in infants. Methods: It was a single blind, randomized controlled clinical trial done in Children Hospital, Lahore. The infants were selected between 6 months to 12 months of age. All the infants were suffering from acute diarrhea with severe dehydration. Total 105 infants were selected and randomly divided into three groups having 35 infants in each group. Infants in group A received standard treatment of diarrhea. Infants in group B and C received Enterococcus faecium SF68 and Saccharomyces boulardii respectively twice daily for five days along with standard treatment of diarrhea. All the infants were monitored for five days. The treatment response was observed in terms of frequency of diarrhea, duration of diarrhea, stool consistency and length of hospital stay. Results: The frequency of diarrhea, duration of diarrhea and length of hospital stay were significantly reduced in both group B and C as compared to group A. Conclusion: Enterococcus faecium SF68 and Saccharomyces boulardii helped to reduce the stool frequency, duration of diarrhea, length of hospital stay and also improved the stool consistency in acute severe diarrhea in infants.