Taking antibiotics can create an imbalance in the bowel flora. The resulting imbalance can change carbohydrate metabolism and decrease short-chain fatty acid absorption and produce diarrhea. This is known as “AAD”, or antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Clostridium difficile, also known more commonly as C. diff, is known to account for 10-20% of antibiotic-associated diarrhea cases.
A meta-analysis of parallel, randomized clinical trials was published in JAMA (May 9; 307(18):1959-69) that looked at 82 controlled studies involving supplementing AAD patients with probiotics. The combined studies involved 11,811 subjects. Results indicated that probiotic supplementation could lead to a significant reduction in AAD.
