BMJ  2007;335:171 (28 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.39283.396285.1F

Letters

Probiotics and diarrhoea

Data are not widely applicable

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

We caution against extrapolating the results of Hickson et al, which support the benefit of probiotics in antibiotic associated diarrhoea.1 We are particularly concerned about their conclusion that a probiotic yoghurt drink, given during and after antibiotic treatment, "has the potential to decrease morbidity, healthcare costs, and mortality if used routinely in patients aged over 50."1

The magnitude of the protective effects of the probiotic yoghurt against antibiotic associated diarrhoea and Clostridium difficile infection were stark. However, important issues about the study design and conclusions were not considered or given sufficient weighting in the discussion. In particular, the highly selective inclusion and exclusion criteria are crucial in result interpretation. It took over two years to recruit 135 patients out of 1760 screened individuals, and only 113 of these were followed up for evidence of diarrhoea. Put simply, how can data pertaining to less than 7% of a potential target population . . . [Full text of this article]

Mark H Wilcox, clinical director of pathology, Jonathan A Sandoe, lecturer

University of Leeds, Leeds LS1 3EX

Mark.Wilcox@Leedsth.nhs.uk


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