Table 3.

The effect of probiotic treatment on the number, duration, severity and combined load of lower respiratory symptoms

			Effect of probiotic relative to placebo (mean; 99% CI)
	Probiotic group (mean ± SD)	Placebo group (mean ± SD)	Ratio	Difference	Qualitative inference
Males
Number of episodes	0.6 ± 0.9	1.0 ± 1.5	0.55; 0.15 to 1.60		Likely ↓
Duration (d)	3.5 ± 6.6	7.4 ± 10.3	0.47; 0.10 to 1.43		Likely ↓
Severity (1-3 scale)	1.23 ± 0.36	1.65 ± 0.57		-0.43 -0.92 to 0.08	Possible ↓
Symptom Load (severity-days)	4.0 ± 7.2	13.0 ± 19.0	0.31; 0.07 to 0.96		Very likely ↓
Females
Number of episodes	1.6 ± 2.1	0.5 ± 0.8	3.27; 0.82 to 21		Likely ↑
Duration (d)	12.2 ± 14.8	5.1 ± 14.7	2.39; 0.45 to 43		Likely ↑
Severity (1-3 scale)	1.38 ± 0.45	2.07 ± 0.77		-0.69 -1.57 to 0.10	Possible ↓
Symptom Load (severity-days)	17.1 ± 19.0	7.9 ± 20.7	2.18; 0.41 to 27.23		Likely ↑

SD, standard deviation; CI, confidence interval.

Smallest clinically important values for assessing effects qualitatively: ratios, ×/÷1.20; differences, ± 0.5.