Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 and a placebo both significantly reduced symptoms in children with functional abdominal pain

Aim: Lactobacillus reuteri is a Gram-positive bacterium that naturally inhabits the human intestinal tract. This study assessed how effectively the probiotic L. reuteri DSM 17938 managed childhood functional abdominal pain (FAP). Methods: We recruited 54 children with a mean age 9.1 ± 3.8 years, who were diagnosed with FAP in the outpatient clinics of three university hospitals in Greece, Slovenia and Poland, according to the Rome III criteria, from January 2013 to December 2015. They were randomly assigned to receive either 2 × 108 colony-forming units of L. reuteri (n = 27) or a placebo (n = 27) for four weeks. Results: Both L. reuteri and the placebo significantly reduced the frequency and intensity of abdominal pain episodes at four and eight weeks compared to baseline (all p