Table I.
Characteristics of the included studies.
| First author, year (ref.) | Country, language | Total cases (treatment/control) | Patients | Eradication regimen | Regimen duration (days) | Species of probiotics | Time of probioticsa | Duration of probiotics (days) | H. pylori infection: Initial diagnosis re-checking | Jadad score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armuzzia, 2001 (41) | Italy, English | 120 (60/60) | Adults | P: 40 mg b.i.d. C: 500 mg, b.i.d. T: 500 mg b.i.d. |
7 | Lactobacillus GG | 3 | 14 | 13C-UBT, H. pylori IgG antibody measurements/13C-UBT | 3 |
| Armuzzia, 2001 (40) | Italy, English | 60 (30/30) | Adults | R: 20 mg b.i.d. C: 500 mg b.i.d. T: 500 mg b.i.d. |
7 | Lactobacillus GG | 3 | 14 | 13C-UBT, H. pylori IgG antibody measurements/13C-UBT | 5 |
| Cremonini, 2002 (42) | Italy, English | 85 (64/21) | Adults | R: 20 mg b.i.d. C: 500 mg b.i.d. T: 500 mg b.i.d. |
7 | Lactobacillus GG; Saccharomyces boulardii | 3 | 14 | 13C-UBT/13C-UBT | 5 |
| Sheu, 2002 (43) | Taiwan, English | 160 (80/80) | Adults | L: 30 mg b.i.d. A: 1 g, b.i.d. C: 500 mg, b.i.d. |
7 | Lactobacillus; Bifidobacterium | 3 | 35 | Histology and RUT/13C-UBT | 2 |
| Myllyuioma, 2005 (44) | Finland, English | 47 (23/24) | Adults | L: 30 mg b.i.d. C: 500 mg b.i.d. A: 1 g b.i.d. |
7 | Lactobacillus GG (ATCC 53103); L. rhamnosus LC (DSM7061); P. freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS (DSM7076); B. breve Bb99 (DSM 13692) | 3 | 28 | 13C-UBT, serology/13C-UBT, serology [IgG decrease by 40% (four months)] | 5 |
| Sýkora, 2005 (45) | Czech Republic, English | 86 (39/47) | Children | O: 10 mg (15–30 kg) or 20 mg (30 kg) b.i.d. A: 25 mg/kg b.i.d. C: 7.5 mg/kg b.i.d. |
7 | Lactobacillus casei (DN-114 001) | 3 | 14 | At least two of three: RUT, histology and culture/HpSAT, 13C-UBT | 5 |
| Płewinska, 2006 (46) | Poland, English | 60 (30/30) | Children | O: 0.5 mg/kg/24 h, b.i.d. A: 50 mg/kg/24 h b.i.d. C: 15 mg/kg/24 h, b.i.d. |
30 | Lactobacillus acidophilus; Lactobacillus rhamnosus | 3 | 28 | RUT, histology/RUT, histology | 1 |
| de Bortoli, 2007 (47) | Italy, English | 206 (105/101) | Adults | E: 20 mg b.i.d. C: 500 mg b.i.d. A: 1 g b.i.d. |
7 | Lactobacillus reuteri | 1 | 7 | HpSAT (99), 13C-UBT (107)/13C-UBT | 2 |
| Cindoruk, 2007 (48) | Turkey, English | 124 (62/62) | Adults | L: 30 mg b.i.d. C: 500 mg b.i.d. A: 1000 mg b.i.d. |
14 | Lactobacillus plantarum; L. reuterii; L. casei subsp. rhamnosus; Bifidobacterium infantis; B. longum; L. salivarius; L. acidophilus; Streptococcus termophilus; L. sporogenes (Lactobacillaceae) | 1 | 14 | HE or Giemsa stain/13C-UBT | 5 |
| Kim, 2008 (49) | Korea, English | 347 (168/179) | Adults | PPI b.i.d. C: 500 mg b.i.d. A: 1 g b.i.d. |
7 | L. acidophilus HY 2177; L. casei HY 2743; B. longum HY 8001; S. thermophilus B-1 | 2 | 28 | RUT, 13C-UBT, histology/13C-UBT | 3 |
| Hurduc, 2009 (50) | Romania, English | 90 (48/42) | Children | O/E: 1 mg/kg/day, b.i.d. A: 50 mg/kg/day, b.i.d. C: 15 mg/kg/day, b.i.d. |
7 or 10 | Saccharomyces boulardii | 3 | 28 | Histology, RUT/histology, RUT | 3 |
| Szajewska, 2009 (51) | Poland, English | 83 (44/39) | Children | O: 0.5 mg/kg b.i.d. A: 25 mg/kg b.i.d. C: 10 mg/kg b.i.d. |
7 | Lactobacillus GG | 1 | 7 | Two of three tests (13C-UBT, histopathology, RUT)/13C-UBT | 5 |
| Song, 2010 (52) | Korea, English | 991 (660/331) | Adults | O: 20 mg, b.i.d. A: 1 g, b.i.d. C: 500 mg, b.i.d. |
7 | S. boulardii | 3 | 28 | Histology/UBT | 3 |
| Yaşar, 2010 (53) | Turkey, English | 76 (38/38) | Adults | P: 40 mg, b.i.d. A: 1 g b.i.d., C: 500 mg b.i.d. |
14 | Bifidobacterium | 1 | 14 | HE and modified Giemsa staining/13C-UBT | 1 |
| Medeiros, 2011 (54) | Portugal, English | 62 (31/31) | Adults | E: 20 mg b.i.d. A: 1 g, b.i.d. C: 500 mg, b.i.d. |
8 | L. acidophilus | 1 | 8 | Culture/13C-UBT | 2 |
| Ozdil, 2011 (11) | Turkey, English | 285 (98/187) | Adults | Group 1: L: 30 mg b.i.d. C: 500 mg b.i.d. A: 1 g b.i.d. Group 2: E: 40 mg b.i.d. Lev: 500 mg q.d. A: 1000mg b.i.d. Group3b: E: 40 mg b.i.d. A: 1000 mg b.i.d. for 5 days E: 40 mg b.i.d. L: 500 mg q.d. T: 500 mg t.i.d. for 5 days |
14 | Saccharomyces boulardii | 1 | 14 | Giemsa-staining/monoclonal HpSAT | 1 |
| Deguchi, 2012 (55) | Japan, English | 229 (115/114) | Adults | R: 10 mg b.i.d. A: 750 mg b.i.d. C: 200 mg b.i.d. |
7 | Lactobacillus gasseri OLL2716 | 2 | 28 | Culture, RUT, histology/13C-UBT, HpSAT or culture | 2 |
| Du, 2012 (56) | China, English | 234 (155/79) | Adults | O: 20 mg b.i.d. C: 500 mg b.i.d. A: 1g b.i.d. |
7 | Lactobacillus acidophilus; S. faecalis; B. subtilis | 2 or 3 | 21 | RUT, 13C or 14C-UBT, pathology/13C or 14C-UBT | 2 |
| Tolone, 2012 (57) | Italy, English | 68 (34/34) | Children | O: 1 mg/kg (before breakfast) b.i.d. A: 50 mg/kg (after meals), b.i.d. C: 15 mg/kg (after meals) b.i.d. |
7 | Lactobacillus plantarum; L. reuterii; L. casei. subsp. rhamnosus; Bifidobacterium infantis ; B. longum; L. salivarius; L. acidophilus; Streptococcus termophilus; L. sporogenes | 1 | 7 | 13C-UBT/13C-UBT | 2 |
| Wang, 2014 (38) | China, English | 100 (49/51) | Children | PPI: 0.6–0.8 mg/kg b.i.d. C: 10–15 mg/kg b.i.d. A: 30–50 mg/kg b.i.d. |
14 | L. acidophilus; Bifidobacterium bifidum | 3 | 42 | 13C-UBT/13C-UBT | 2 |
| Dajani, 2013 (39) | Italy, English | 301 (195/106) | Children | PPI: NR C: 500 mg b.i.d. A: 1000 mg b.i.d. |
7 | Bifidobacterium infantis | 1 or 2 | 7 or 21 | 14C-UBT/14C-UBT | 2 |
a
1 represents ‘same’, i.e. administration simultaneously with the eradication regimens; 2 represents ‘before’, i.e. used prior to the eradication regimen/continuing until the end of the eradication treatment; 3 represents ‘after’, i.e. beginning with the eradication treatment and continuing subsequent to the end of the eradication treatment/used when the eradication regimen has ended.
b
Sequence therapy.
P, pantoprazole; C, clarithromycin; R, rabeprazole; T, tinidazole; L, lansoprazole; O, omeprazole; Lev, levofloxacin; E, esomeprazole; PPI, proton-pump inhibitor; b.i.d., twice a day; t.i.d., three times a day; q.d., daily; UBT, urea breath test; IgG, immunoglobulin G; RUT, rapid urease test; ATCC, American Type Culture Collection; HpSAT, H. pylori stool antigen test; HE, hematoxylin and eosin; NR, no report.