Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of children (n = 120) hospitalized for acute RTI and randomly assigned to a double-blind treatment with either placebo (n = 60) or Bifidobacterium lactis Probio-M8 (n = 60)
| Baseline characteristics | Placebo | Probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis Probio-M8 | P value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| All subjects (n) | 60 | 60 | 0.000** |
| LRTI (n) | 50 | 42 | 0.084** |
| URTI (n) | 10 | 18 | 0.084** |
| Sex(male) | 65% | 65% | 0.000** |
| Age (months) | 12.11 ± 0.73 | 13.81 ± 0.90 | 0.262 |
| Body weight (kg) | 10.70 ± 1.40 | 8.79 ± 0.26 | 0.781 |
| Height (cm) | 72.18 ± 1.55 | 73.02 ± 1.68 | 0.384 |
| Number of siblings | 2.93 ± 0.21 | 2.85 ± 0.18 | 0.922 |
| Smokers in family | 0.53 ± 0.06 | 0.60 ± 0.06 | 0.460 |
| History of food allergy | 0.07 ± 0.03 | 0.1 ± 0.04 | 0.514 |
| Hospitalization for the past 12 months | 0.37 ± 0.06 | 0.30 ± 0.06 | 0.443 |
| Incidence of diarrhea for the past 12 months | 0.33 ± 0.06 | 0.28 ± 0.06 | 0.562 |
| Incidence of RTI for the past 12 months | 0.57 ± 0.06 | 0.48 ± 0.07 | 0.361 |
| Having pets at home | 0.43 ± 0.06 | 0.37 ± 0.06 | 0.460 |
| % (n) | % (n) | P value** | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family income status: | |||
| Low (< RM 2300) | 68.33 (41) | 55.93 (34) | 0.190 |
| Middle (RM 2301–5999) | 26.67 (16) | 30.51 (18) | 0.641 |
| > RM6,000 | 3.33 (2) | 11.86 (7) | 0.082 |
| > RM10,000 | 1.67 (1) | 1.69 (1) | 0.991 |
| Number of people living together in a household | |||
| Less than or equal to 4 people | 36.67 (22) | 30.51 (18) | 0.441 |
| More than 4 people | 63.33 (38) | 69.49 (42) | 0.441 |
| House location: | |||
| Urban | 35 (21) | 32.20 (19) | 0.701 |
| Sub-urban | 40 (24) | 40.68 (25) | 0.850 |
| Town | 25 (15) | 27.12 (16) | 0.832 |
*P value obtained via Mann–Whitney U test unless specified otherwise
**P value obtained via Chi-square test