A recent meta-analysis examined a previously published group of studies about probiotics. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria, often taken in supplement form.
Researchers found a clear effect in favor of probiotic use when people took antibiotics. In studies where people used probiotics for at least the duration of the antibiotic treatment, patients had a marked reduction in antibiotic associated diarrhea.
This was true even for patients who were not infected with Clostridium difficile, a type of bacteria known to cause post-antibiotic diarrhea.
Aliment Pharmacol Therapy 2012
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