Localized Impact of Zinc and Probiotics on Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea in Children: A Perspective from 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 the efficacy of zinc and probiotics in reducing antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) incidence, hospitalization, and treatment duration.. 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 AADwere 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.