Takeaway
- Probiotics may be a cost-effective treatment for preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia, Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhoea, and antibiotic-associated diarrhoea in hospitalised adult patients.
Why this matters
- Despite the potential benefits of probiotics in reducing the incidence of health care-related infections, few data are available about their cost-effectiveness.
Study design
- Researchers systematically reviewed 7 economic evaluations of probiotic treatment in hospitalised adults, including 1 randomised-controlled trial (RCT)-based analysis and 6 model-based analyses.
- They used Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methods to assess certainty in the overall cost-effectiveness evidence.
- Funding: None disclosed.
Key results
- 6 (86%) of 7 evaluations found favourable cost-effectiveness, but overall GRADE certainty of evidence was very low because of potential bias, imprecision, and inconsistency.
- 3 (43%) of 7 evaluations were manufacturer-supported.
Limitations
- Conclusions are not definitive, because of the low number of economic evaluations included in this review and low certainty of evidence.
- Review results may not apply to paediatric populations.
- More safety data are needed about probiotic-induced complications such as bacteraemia.
- Future probiotic RCTs should collect cost data to inform bedside practice, clinical guidelines, and health care policy.
References
References