Bacteria and yeasts in the treatment of acute and chronic infectious diarrhea. Part I. Bacteria.

Treatment of acute infectious gastroenteritis consists mainly of rehydration and rapid realimentation. However, the natural intestinal microflora is disrupted in both acute and chronic infectious diarrhea, resulting in complex interactions possibly aggravating this frequently self-limiting condition. Therefore, additional therapeutic intervention with biotherapeutic agents is worth considering. The results of most randomized prospective double-blind clinical trials with bacterial biotherapeutic agents are disappointing, showing a lack of efficacy, except for Lactobacillus casei strain GG, for which both positive and negative results have been published.