The Impact of Zinc and Probiotics in Preventing Pediatric Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea in Southern Iran.

Background Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) is a frequently encountered complication that arises from the administration of antimicrobial agents. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the impacts of zinc and probiotics on the prevention of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD). Patients and methods: This is a randomized clinical trial involving 165 children referred to Bandar Abbas Children's Hospital, which necessitated antibiotics for any given reason. They were randomly assigned to three groups of equal size, exclusively receiving the standard antibiotic regimen or the zinc and probiotics groups. Age, sex, length of hospital stay, treatment duration, type of antibiotic, and incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) were documented for all patients. Results: Among the 165 children who participated in the survey, AAD occurred in 12.7% of the zinc group, 9.1% of the probiotics group, and 10.9% of the control group; however, the difference among the groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.829). There was no significant association between AAD and age, sex, hospital length of stay, type of antibiotic, or patient grouping. Conclusions: Despite the lower incidence of AAD, duration of hospital stay and duration of treatment in children in the probiotic group, these findings were not statistically significant.