Supplementation with Lactobacillus salivarius prevents recurrent acute otitis in children.
This pilot clinical study, aimed to determine the effects of daily supplementation during 6 months with 1×108 CFU of Lactobacillus salivarius PS7, selected for its antagonism of otophathogens, in the prevention of otitis in 61 children suffering of recurrent acute otitis media.
Comparison between the number of AOM episodes reported during the 6 months of the probiotic treatment and those reported during the previous 6 months. **, statistically significant change (p < 0.05; ¬χ2 test).
Thirty six percent (36%) of the recruited children suffered at least one episode of acute otitis media, with a median duration of 4 days. In contrast, 70% of the children with recurrent acute otitis media who were attended by the same pediatrician in the same period but did not receive the probiotic strain suffered at least one acute otitis media episode with a median duration of 6 days. The number of acute otitis media episodes during the 6-month intervention period decreased by 84% when compared to the number registered in the 6 months that preceded the intervention (Figure 1). Moreover, the microbial density in the external auditory canal decreased notably along the intervention period, from >3.5 log10 CFU at the baseline (all the cultures were positive at this sampling time) to <2 log10 CFU at the end of the intervention (with 22% of the cultures being negative).
In conclusion, Lactobacillus salivarius PS7 is a promising strain for the prevention of recurrent acute otitis media in infants and children.
Cárdenas N, Martín V, Arroyo R, López M, Carrera M, Badiola C, Jiménez E, Rodríguez JM. Prevention of Recurrent Acute Otitis Media in Children Through the Use of Lactobacillus salivarius PS7, a Target-Specific Probiotic Strain. Nutrients. 2019 Feb 12;11(2).