Abstract

Background: Acute gastroenteritis remains an extremely common problem among the general population. In Western countries, an average person will probably face one or two episodes of gastrointestinal infections every year. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of nifuroxazide and probiotic preparation containing lactic acid bacteria in the treatment of acute diarrheal syndrome. Methods: The study was prospective, comparative study. Patients who suffered from acute infective diarrhoea for ≤72 hours and had ≥3 unformed stools per day, with no administration of antibiotics during 10 days before enrolment were divided into two groups: nifuroxazide group and the lactic acid probiotic group. All patients received therapies four times a day for three days. Data was collected at the baseline visit (before the initiation of the treatment) and two follow-up examinations on the third and seventh day from the treatment start. Results: The study included 61 patients, 36 in nifuroxazide group and 25 in probiotic group. Nifuroxazide group compared to probiotic group showed faster improvement of patients’ condition with lower number of stools three and seven days after therapy start (p=0.001 and p

Key words: Acute diarrheal syndrome; Nifuroxazide; Probiotics; Treatment efficacy.