Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2002 Sep;51(3):405-9.
doi: 10.1136/gut.51.3.405.

Ineffectiveness of probiotics in preventing recurrence after curative resection for Crohn's disease: a randomised controlled trial with Lactobacillus GG

C Prantera  1 , M L Scribano, G Falasco, A Andreoli, C Luzi
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Ineffectiveness of probiotics in preventing recurrence after curative resection for Crohn's disease: a randomised controlled trial with Lactobacillus GG

C Prantera et al. Gut. 2002 Sep.

Abstract

Background and aims: Experimental studies have shown that luminal bacteria may be involved in Crohn's disease. Probiotics are a possible alternative to antibiotics. The aim of this randomised placebo controlled study was to determine if Lactobacillus GG, given by mouth for one year, could prevent Crohn's recurrent lesions after surgery or to reduce their severity.

Methods: Patients operated on for Crohn's disease in whom all of the diseased gut had been removed were randomly allocated to receive 12 billion colony forming units of Lactobacillus or identical placebo for one year. Ileocolonoscopy was performed at the end of the trial or at the onset of symptoms. Endoscopic recurrence was defined as grade 2 or higher of Rutgeerts scoring system.

Results: Eight of 45 patients were excluded from the trial (three for non-compliance and five for protocol violations). Clinical recurrence was ascertained in three (16.6%) patients who received Lactobacillus and in two (10.5%) who received placebo. Nine of 15 patients in clinical remission on Lactobacillus (60%) had endoscopic recurrence compared with six of 17 (35.3%) on placebo (p=0.297). There were no significant differences in the severity of the lesions between the two groups.

Conclusions: Lactobacillus GG seems neither to prevent endoscopic recurrence at one year nor reduce the severity of recurrent lesions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart describing the outcome of patients during the trial.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sartor RB. Role of intestinal microflora in initiation and perpetuation of inflammatory bowel disease. Can J Gastroenterol 1990;4:271–7.
    1. Sartor RB. Enteric microflora in IBD: pathogens or commensals? Inflamm Bowel Dis 1997;3:23–35. - PubMed
    1. Colombel JF, Lemann M, Cassagnou M, et al. A controlled trial comparing ciprofloxacin with mesalazine for the treatment of active Crohn's disease. Am J Gastroenterol 1999;94:674–8. - PubMed
    1. Prantera C, Scribano ML, Berto E, et al. Antibiotic use in Crohn's disease. Why and how? Bio Drugs 1997;8:293–306. - PubMed
    1. Fiocchi C. Inflammatory bowel disease: etiology and pathogenesis. Gastroenterology 1998;115:182–205. - PubMed

Publication types