Only Lactobacillus GG showed a consistent effect .
There is evidence of a clinical ly significant benefit of probiotics in the treatment of  acute infectious diarrhea in infants and children , particularly in rotaviral gastroenteritis .
Lactobacillus GG showed the most consistent effect , although other probiotic strains may also be effective .
Clinical and statistical heterogeneity of the prophylactic interventions preclude drawing firm conclusions about the efficacy of probiotics in preventing acute gastroenteritis
BACKGROUND This review was design ed to assess the evidence from r and omized controlled trials on effects of probiotics in the treatment and prevention of acute infectious diarrhea in infants and children .
A trial in the Karelian Republic of oral rehydration and Lactobacillus GG for treatment of acute diarrhoea
In a controlled trial in Petrozavodsk , Karelia , the effects of oral rehydration and Lactobacillus strain GG ( LGG ) on  recovery  from  acute diarrhoea ( 27 % rotavirus , 21 % bacterial aetiology ) were studied in 123 children aged between 1 and 36 months of age . On admission to hospital , the patients were first r and omized to receive either isotonic oral rehydration solution ( ORS ) with osmolality 311mosmol/l and sodium 90mmol/l ( WHO‐ORS ) , or a hypotonic ORS with osmolality 224mosmol/l and sodium 60mmol/l ( Light‐ORS ) , and thereafter r and omized to receive either 5 × 109 colony forming units of LGG or a matching placebo . The two ORS performed equally for acute rehydration , and oral rehydration with either ORS was associated with a shorter duration of diarrhoea than intravenous rehydration ( p= 0.036 ) . Patients receiving LGG had a significantly shorter duration of watery diarrhoea [ mean ( SD ) 2.7 ( 2.2 ) days ] than those receiving the placebo [ 3.7 ( 2.8 ) days , p= 0.03 ] . LGG significantly shortened the duration of rotavirus diarrhoea but not diarrhoea with confirmed bacterial aetiology
Only Lactobacillus GG showed a consistent effect .
There is evidence of a clinical ly significant benefit of probiotics in the treatment of  acute infectious diarrhea in infants and children , particularly in rotaviral gastroenteritis .
Lactobacillus GG showed the most consistent effect , although other probiotic strains may also be effective .
Clinical and statistical heterogeneity of the prophylactic interventions preclude drawing firm conclusions about the efficacy of probiotics in preventing acute gastroenteritis
BACKGROUND This review was design ed to assess the evidence from r and omized controlled trials on effects of probiotics in the treatment and prevention of acute infectious diarrhea in infants and children .