RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Probiotic capsules and xylitol chewing gum to manage symptoms of pharyngitis: a randomized controlled factorial trial
JF Canadian Medical Association Journal
JO CMAJ
FD Canadian Medical Association
SP E1543
OP E1550
DO 10.1503/cmaj.170599
VO 189
IS 50
A1 Little, Paul
A1 Stuart, Beth
A1 Wingrove, Zoe
A1 Mullee, Mark
A1 Thomas, Tammy
A1 Johnson, Sophie
A1 Leydon, Gerry
A1 Richards-Hall, Samantha
A1 Williamson, Ian
A1 Yao, Lily
A1 Zhu, Shihua
A1 Moore, Michael
YR 2017
UL http://www.cmaj.ca/content/189/50/E1543.abstract
AB BACKGROUND: Reducing the use of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections is needed to limit the global threat of antibiotic resistance. We estimated the effectiveness of probiotics and xylitol for the management of pharyngitis.METHODS: In this parallel-group factorial randomized controlled trial, participants in primary care (aged 3 years or older) with pharyngitis underwent randomization by nurses who provided sequential intervention packs. Pack contents for 3 kinds of material and advice were previously determined by computer-generated random numbers: no chewing gum, xylitol-based chewing gum (15% xylitol; 5 pieces daily) and sorbitol gum (5 pieces daily). Half of each group were also randomly assigned to receive either probiotic capsules (containing 24 × 109 colony-forming units of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria) or placebo. The primary outcome was mean self-reported severity of sore throat and difficulty swallowing (scale 0–6) in the first 3 days. We used multiple imputation to avoid the assumption that data were missing completely at random.RESULTS: A total of 1009 individuals consented, 934 completed the baseline assessment, and 689 provided complete data for the primary outcome. Probiotics were not effective in reducing the severity of symptoms: mean severity scores 2.75 with no probiotic and 2.78 with probiotic (adjusted difference −0.001, 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.24 to 0.24). Chewing gum was also ineffective: mean severity scores 2.73 without gum, 2.72 with sorbitol gum (adjusted difference 0.07, 95% CI −0.23 to 0.37) and 2.73 with xylitol gum (adjusted difference 0.01, 95% CI −0.29 to 0.30). None of the secondary outcomes differed significantly between groups, and no harms were reported.INTERPRETATION: Neither probiotics nor advice to chew xylitol-based chewing gum was effective for managing pharyngitis. Trial registration: ISRCTN, no. ISRCTN51472596