Emergency Department Probiotic Treatment of Pediatric Gastroenteritis

All patients in this arm of the study will take 1 sachet containing inactive ingredients (maltodextrin, magnesium stearate, and ascorbic acid) twice daily for 5 days. Doses should be ideally separated by 12 hours (minimum of 8 hours) and taken within 30 minutes of food/drink. If the child vomits within 15 minutes of medication administration (initial or subsequent dose), the dose will be repeated. Total of 2 sachets per day for 5 days.

All patients in this arm of the study will take 1 sachet twice daily for 5 days. Each sachet will contain a minimum of 4 billion colony-forming units (CFU) of Lactobacillus rhamnosus Rosell-11 (95%) and L. helveticus Rosell-52 (5%). The total weight of all ingredients is 1 gm. Doses should be ideally separated by 12 hours (minimum of 8 hours) and taken within 30 minutes of food/drink. If the child vomits within 15 minutes of medication administration (initial or subsequent dose), the dose will be repeated. Total daily dose = 8 billion CFU x 5 days.