Effects of inulin supplemented Bifidobacterium lactis adding on standart therapy in Helicobacter pylori infected children

Aim; Due to the reasons such as the progress in resistance, patient?s response to therapy and drug side effects, there has been a serious decline in the ratios of eradication with the standard therapy, which has been applied for many years for the treatment of H. pylori infections. In this study, we have aimed at evaluating the role of Bifidobacterium lactis (probiotic) containing inulin (prebiotic) in the case of H. pylori eradication, the dyspeptic symptoms and its effects in reducing the side effects of antibiotics.Materials and Methods; In order to exclude any possible pathologic situations, the endoscopy and biopsy procedures were conducted on patients aged between 6 and 16 years having severe dyspeptic complaints that were likely to affect the quality of their daily life (abdominal pain, nausea-vomiting, reflux, weight loss, hematemesis, melena, constipation, diarrhea) and attended to Pediatric and Pediatric Gastroenterology Outpatients Clinic, at Bülent Ecevit University Hospital. Sixty four patients with H. pylori infection positive, identified by endoscopic biopsy, have been randomly classified into two groups. In the first group, 31 patients have been conducted to the standard therapy with amoxicillin (50 mg/kg/day, 14 days) + clarithromycin (15 mg/kg/day, 14 days) + omeprazole (1 mg/kg/day, a month). In the second group, 33 patients have been treated by the standard therapy with 5 billion cfu of Bifidobacterium lactis and 900 mg inulin in two weeks period concurrently. Succesful eradication was defined as a negative Carbon-14 urea breath test result 1 month after therapy discontinuation.Results; H. pylori eradication was achieved in 20 of 31 children receiving standart therapy (64.5%), and in 27 of 33 children receiving the standard therapy with Bifidobacterium lactis containing inulin (81.8%). Although the ratio of eradication was high in the first group, the difference between two groups was not statistically significant (p=0.199).It has been determined that in the first group, there was no change of symptoms in 4 patients (12.9%) and a slight relief of symptoms in 11 patients (35.5%) and a significant relief of them were noticed in 16 patients (51.6%). In the second group, there was no change of symptoms in 1 patient (3%) and a slight relief of symptoms in 7 patients (21.2%) and a significant relief of them were noticed in 25 patients (75.8%). The difference between two groups was not statistically significant (p=0.193).Conclusion; It has been detected that in terms of the eradication of H. pylori infection in children, the inulin supplemented Bifidobacterium lactis adding on standard therapy has no superiority over the standard therapy conducted alone.