Findings

What do systematic reviews say?

8 questions · 8 findings · 1 reviews · Acute Respiratory Infections

No studies found 1 · 12.5%GRADE not reported 0 · 0%Very low 0 · 0%Low 1 · 12.5%Moderate 5 · 62.5%High 1 · 12.5%

Proportion of children with AOM (overall) · children up to age 18 years

Probiotic probably leads to lower proportion of children with AOM (overall) compared with placebo (moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Probiotics for preventing acute otitis media in children 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 0.77 [0.63, 0.93]
16 studies · 2961 participants
Moderate

Proportion of children with AOM: children not prone to AOM · children up to age 18 years

Probiotic probably leads to lower proportion of children with AOM: children not prone to AOM compared with placebo (moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Probiotics for preventing acute otitis media in children 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 0.64 [0.49, 0.84]
11 studies · 2227 participants
Moderate

Proportion of children with AOM: children prone to AOM · children up to age 18 years

Probiotic showed no clear difference in proportion of children with AOM: children prone to AOM compared with placebo (high certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Probiotics for preventing acute otitis media in children 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 0.97 [0.85, 1.11]
5 studies · 734 participants
High

Severity of AOM · children up to age 18 years

The review found no eligible studies for this question.

1 finding from 1 review

Probiotics for preventing acute otitis media in children 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
no estimate extracted
Studies not reported
No studies found

Adverse events · children up to age 18 years

Probiotic showed no clear difference in adverse events compared with placebo (low certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Probiotics for preventing acute otitis media in children 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
OR 1.54 [0.6, 3.94]
4 studies · 395 participants
Low

Time off school for child · children up to age 18 years

1 finding from 1 review

Probiotics for preventing acute otitis media in children 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
no estimate extracted
5 studies · 1280 participants
Moderate

Difference in the use of antibiotics · children up to age 18 years

Probiotic probably leads to lower difference in the use of antibiotics compared with placebo (moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Probiotics for preventing acute otitis media in children 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 0.66 [0.51, 0.86]
8 studies · 1768 participants
Moderate

Difference in proportion of children with other infections · children up to age 18 years

Probiotic probably leads to lower difference in proportion of children with other infections compared with placebo (moderate certainty).

1 finding from 1 review

Probiotics for preventing acute otitis media in children 2019 · Cochrane Headline outcomes only
RR 0.75 [0.65, 0.87]
11 studies · 3610 participants
Moderate