Effect of a Symbiotic Mixture on Fecal Microbiota in Pediatric Patients Suffering of Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders

Abstract

(1) Background: Functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) represent one of the main etiologies of chronic abdominal pain in the pediatric population. A wide spectrum of probiotic or prebiotic mixtures has been evaluated in trials regarding benefits in patients with FAPDs, mainly in the adult population. (2) Methods: This study was interested in evaluating the effect of oral supplementation with a symbiotic mixture on intestinal microbiota in children with functional dyspepsia (FD), irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D), and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). A combination of six bacterial strains (Lactobacillus rhamnosus R0011, Lactibacillus casei R0215, Bifidobacterium lactis BI-04, Lactobacillus acidophilus La-14, Bifidobacterium longum BB536, Lactobacillus plantarum R1012) and 210 mg of fructo-oligosaccharides-inulin were administered orally, daily, for 12 weeks and patients were scored for severity of symptoms and fecal microbiota before and after the treatment. (3) Results: The proportion of patients with adequate symptom relief was higher in the IBS-D than in the IBS-C group; however, the difference was not statistically significant (74.4% vs. 61.9%, p = 0.230). There was an increasing proportion of bacterial genera associated with health benefits, for both IBS-C and IBS-D (IBS-C: 31.1 ± 16.7% vs. 47.7 ± 13.5%, p = 0.01; IBS-D: 35.8 ± 16.2% vs. 44.1 ± 15.1%, p = 0.01). (4) Conclusions: Administration of a symbiotic preparation resulted in significant changes to the microbiota and gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with FAPDs.