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Probiotics in addition to antibiotics for the treatment of acute tonsillitis: a randomized, placebo-controlled study

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Abstract

Probiotics are live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. The probiotic Streptococcus salivarius has been shown to be effective in reducing the frequency of recurrent pharyngeal infections in children and adult populations. However, probiotics have not yet been evaluated in the treatment of acute pharyngotonsillitis in adults. We aimed to examine whether the addition of S. salivarius probiotics to the routine therapy of acute pharyngotonsillitis in adult patients may shorten disease duration and reduce symptom severity. This study was a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study comparing treatment with probiotics to placebo in addition to antibiotics in patients who were hospitalized with severe pharyngotonsillitis. Laboratory results, pain levels, body temperature, and daily volume of fluids consumed were recorded for both groups. Sixty participants were recruited, 30 for each group. No statistically significant differences between the two groups were observed regarding any of the major clinical and laboratory parameters examined. Supplement probiotic treatment with S. salivarius in patients with acute pharyngotonsillitis treated with penicillin is ineffective in relation to the parameters examined in this study and we cannot, therefore, recommend the use of S. salivarius during active pharyngotonsillar infection treated with penicillin.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to SupHerb, Israel and their representative Dr. Carmela Rotem PhD, for the supply of the probiotics and the placebo.

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest. No financial support was received for this work. Probiotics and placebo were supplied by the manufacturer: SupHerb, Israel.

Ethical standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery Unit, Ziv Medical Center, Rambam St., Safed, 13100, Israel

    P. Gilbey, L. Livshits & Y. Avraham

  2. Faculty of Medicine in the Galilee, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel

    P. Gilbey

  3. Research Wing, Ziv Medical Center, Safed, Israel

    A. Sharabi-Nov

  4. The Infectious Disease Consultation Service, Ziv Medical Center, Safed, Israel

    D. Miron

  5. The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    D. Miron

Authors
  1. P. Gilbey
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  2. L. Livshits
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  3. A. Sharabi-Nov
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  4. Y. Avraham
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  5. D. Miron
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. Gilbey.

Additional information

NIH ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01679366.

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Gilbey, P., Livshits, L., Sharabi-Nov, A. et al. Probiotics in addition to antibiotics for the treatment of acute tonsillitis: a randomized, placebo-controlled study. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 34, 1011–1015 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-015-2315-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-015-2315-z

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