The Use of Probiotics in the Treatment and Prophylaxis of Various Diseases in Turkiye: A Systematic Review

The aim of this study is to analyze the available information on the use of probiotics containing different microorganisms, singly or in combination, in order to investigate the effect of probiotics on the treatment, prophylaxis and microbiota of various diseases. In addition to Pubmed, Google Scholar, SCOPUS, EMBASE, Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL, AMED, Turkish Medline electronic da- tabases, the gray literature was searched to cover the years 2004-2021. Randomized controlled studies (RCTs) included in the specified selection criteria were brought together. RCTs were evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Of the 32 RCTs included in total, only yeast (Saccharomyces spp.) was administered in fourteen, only Lactobacillus spp. in six, Bifidobacterium spp. only in four, and probiotic supplementation containing more than one bacterial strain in six. Only 10/32 of the included studies fully reported the probiotic strain, and 22/32 reported only at the species level. In all nine studies using probiotics for the treatment of diarrhea, probiotics were reported to shorten the duration of diarrhea and length of hospital stay. Four of the five studies reporting the use of probiotics in the treatment of necrotizing enterocolitis reported that probiotics were not effective in reducing the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis, but could improve nutritional tolerance. In two of the four RCTs investigating the use of probiotics in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infec- tion, it was stated that the side effects associated with eradication therapy decreased. In both studies conducted for prophylaxis, it was reported that probiotics prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea. This study shows that probiotics have positive results for the treatment indications and prophylaxis of various diseases. For the sustainability of these health benefits and the safe administration of probiotics, more research is needed that includes strain information and side effect reports.