Probiotics in primary care: A survey of health professionals

Abstract

This article presents the results of a survey of primary care professionals, including practice nurses, into their understanding and use of probiotics. While probiotics were recommended by 56.8% of the practice nurses who responded, probiotic recommendation was even higher in dietitians (91.2%) and GPs (78%). The main reasons for recommending probiotics were: during and after a course of antibiotics; irritable bowel syndrome; diarrhoea; for patients run down and susceptible to infection; constipation; diverticulitis; ulcerative colitis; before travel abroad; for older persons; and mothers or babies in families with allergic tendencies. Formulating evidence-based decisions for this category might be difficult, however, as 32.5% of practice nurses said they had a poor or non-existent understanding of probiotics. As scientific evidence for probiotics continues to accumulate, with positive results reported in a wide range of health areas, health professionals need to keep up to date so that they can advise patients.