Patricia Langenegger
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Samuel Ristovski List
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Abril Perez Rivas
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Artur Tenorio
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Camila Roberta Caseli
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Daniela Estrada
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Deborah Pires
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Edgar Acon
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Faruk Hernandez
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Geronimo Pacheco
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Guilherme Gradim Fabbron
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Heberti Silva
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Hellen Rose Salazar
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Ivan Morales
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Lucas Gremaschi
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Luiza Sandes
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Maira Fabiana Rodrigues Neves
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Maria Baron
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Muhannad Abu Abthan
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Orlando Loyola
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Paula Figueroa
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Phu Pham
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Ruben Riera
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Saskia J.M. Kamphuis
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Tassia Bastos
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Timo Schenker
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Wilson Catapani
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Rafael Pinto-Colmenarez
Principles and Practice of Clinical Research Program, Executive and Continuing Professional Education (ECPE), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
Abstract
Background: Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are a common cause of illness and health care visits in children. Probiotics have shown promising results in reducing the incidence and duration of RTIs. However, significant gaps remain to be cleared, such as the variability in study results due to differences in probiotic strains, doses and populations studied. The present systematic review collected evidence on the effect of various probiotic strains and administration schedules on RTIs in children and adolescents.
Methods: A comprehensive search strategy for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was employed using both Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and non-MeSH terms across Medline, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases. Screened RCTs assessed the effect of any probiotic strain, form of administration, and dosing schedule on the incidence of RTIs in healthy pediatric and adolescent populations aged 28 days to 17 years across different settings.
Results: According to predefined eligibility criteria, we identified 32 RCTs, with a total of 8415subjects. Of these, 25 (78.1%) studies reported a positive effect of probiotics in reducing the incidence of RTIs. However, the results were notably heterogeneous, with 22 different probiotic strains and a variety of administration schedules and study designs. The most frequent strain genus was Lactobacillus, used in 46.8% of trials and the doses ranged from thousands (105) to over tens of billions (1010) of colony forming units (CFU).
Conclusion: The findings of the present review confirm the potential of probiotics to reduce the occurrence of RTIs in children, especially LGG strains in day care centers. However, the wide range of probiotic strains and administration schedules emphasizes the need for further research to find the most effective strains and establish standardized guidelines for using them to prevent RTIs in children.
Keywords: Probiotics; Pediatrics; Respiratory Tract Infections; Preventive Medicine.
