A randomized, double‐blind trial of lactobacillus GG versus placebo in addition to standard maintenance therapy for children with Crohn's disease

Probiotics are widely used by patients with Crohn's disease (CD) in an attempt to improve their health, but few controlled studies have been done to evaluate the efficacy of these therapies. We conducted a randomized, placebo‐controlled trial of the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG (...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Inflammatory bowel diseases 2005-09, Vol.11 (9), p.833-839
Main Authors: Bousvaros, Athos, Guandalini, Stefano, Baldassano, Robert N, Botelho, Christine, Evans, Jonathan, Ferry, George D, Goldin, Barry, Hartigan, Lori, Kugathasan, Subra, Levy, Joseph, Murray, Karen F, Oliva‐Hemker, Maria, Rosh, Joel R, Tolia, Vasundhara, Zholudev, Anna, Vanderhoof, Jon A, Hibberd, Patricia L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Child
Child, Preschool
Crohn Disease - drug therapy
Crohn's disease
Double-Blind Method
Female
Humans
inflammatory bowel disease
Lactobacillus
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
Male
Placebos
probiotics
Probiotics - therapeutic use
Recurrence
Time Factors
Treatment Outcome
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Probiotics are widely used by patients with Crohn's disease (CD) in an attempt to improve their health, but few controlled studies have been done to evaluate the efficacy of these therapies. We conducted a randomized, placebo‐controlled trial of the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain GG (LGG) to see if the addition of LGG to standard therapy prolonged remission in children with CD. Concomitant medications allowed in the study included aminosalicylates, 6‐mercaptopurine, azathioprine, and low‐dose alternate day corticosteroids. Seventy‐five children (age range, 5‐21 yr) with CD in remission were randomized to either LGG (n = 39) or placebo (n = 36) and followed for up to 2 years. The median time to relapse was 9.8 months in the LGG group and 11.0 months in the placebo group (P = 0.24); 31% (12/39) of patients in the LGG group developed a relapse compared with 6/36 (17%) of the placebo group (P = 0.18). The LGG was well tolerated, with a side effect profile comparable with placebo. This study suggests that LGG does not prolong time to relapse in children with CD when given as an adjunct to standard therapy.
ISSN:1078-0998
1536-4844
DOI:10.1097/01.MIB.0000175905.00212.2c