Effect of synbiotic supplementation on children with atopic dermatitis: an observational prospective study

The objective of this observational single-cohort prospective study was to assess the effect of synbiotic supplementation for 8 weeks in children with atopic dermatitis (AD). The synbiotic product contained Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus plantarum, fructooligosaccharide, galactooligosaccharide, and biotin. Patients were examined at baseline and at 8 weeks. Effectiveness of treatment was assessed with the Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index. A total of 320 children (mean age 5.1 years, range 0–12 years) were included. The mean (SD) SCORAD index decreased from 45.5 (15.5) at baseline to 19.4 (14.6) at the end of treatment (P < 0.001), VAS score for pruritus decreased from 5.7 (2.2) to 2.3 (2.2) (P < 0.001), and VAS score for sleep decreased from 3.1 (2.5) to 1.1 (1.8) (P < 0.001). Percentage of children with moderate-severe disease decreased from 92.4% at baseline to 28.1% at week 8. In the multiple linear regression analysis, higher baseline SCORAD index (OR 0.51; 95% CI 0.41–0.61) and higher adherence (OR 7.29; 95% CI 1.85–12.73) were significantly associated with greater decrease in SCORAD index. Conclusion: Supplementation with the multistrain synbiotic product may improve AD in children.