Clinical applications of probiotics in gastrointestinal disorders in children.

Probiotics are widely used in promoting human health and adjunctive therapy of human disease. Many clinical trials and research studies have shown benefits of probiotics. We review the literature associated with the clinical applications of probiotics in paediatric diseases, including necrotizing enterocolitis, infantile colic, infectious diarrhoea or gastrointestinal infection, antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, constipation, lactose intolerance, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome and functional abdominal pain. We also summarize the representative probiotics that are commonly used in paediatric diseases.