Table 1.
Clinical Practice Guideline Recommendations Regarding Probiotics for the Prevention of Clostridium difficile Infection
| Guideline | Year published | Recommendation | Strength | Evidence assessment by authors | Evidence assessment by reviewersa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Journal of Gastroenterology | 2013 | Not recommended | Strong | Low quality | 2 |
| Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology | 2013 | Not mentioned | Not assigned | Not assessed | Not applicable |
| European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases | 2014b | Unclear | Not assigned | Not assessed | 1, 2 |
| Health Protection Agency/Department of Health | 2008 | Not recommended | Not assigned | Not assessed | 1, 2 |
| Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America | 2014 | Unclear | Not assigned | Not assessed | 1, 2 |
a
Level 1 signifies a systematic review of randomized controlled trials, and level 2 signifies a single randomized controlled trial.
b
Updated from the 2009 version without updating prevention strategies; however, a section on probiotics is updated. Evidence assessment is conducted using the Oxford levels of evidence-based medicine.25