Effectiveness of probiotic therapy for the prevention of relapse in patients with inactive ulcerative colitis

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of the study group

	Bio-three (n = 23)	Placebo (n = 23)
Male/female	16/7	12/11
Age (yr, mean ± SD)	44.8 ± 13.8	42.9 ± 15.9
Age of onset (yr)	37.1 ± 14.4	36.0 ± 14.2
Disease duration (yr, mean ± SD)	8.0 ± 6.3	6.7 ± 5.9
Left colon	6	9
Proctosigmoiditis	6	5
Total/subtotal	11	9
Concomitant drug
Pentasa	11	13
Salazopyrin	10	9
Pentasa + salazopyrin	1	0
Nothing	1	1

Table 2 Comparison of characteristics of fecal samples (according to cluster)

Group(sample number)	OTU124/all T-RFs (%)	Butyrate/acetate ratio (mol)
Cluster I	2.8 ± 3.6	0.254 ± 0.172
Cluster II (n = 138)	27.6 ± 12.0	0.184 ± 0.147
Cluster III (n = 28)	18.0 ± 10.8	0.075 ± 0.126

Data are expressed as mean ± SD. Because equal variances were rejected for each variable, multiple comparisons were performed with Dunnett’s T3 test. Different letters indicate the presence of a significant difference (P < 0.05). T-RF: Terminal restriction fragment.

Table 3 Comparison of characteristics of fecal samples (according to clinical outcomes)

Group (sample number)	OTU124/all T-RFs (%)	Butyrate/acetate ratio (mol)
Remission (before treatment) (n = 29)	22.7 ± 13.8	0.165 ± 0.143
Remission (months 3 and 6) (n = 58)	22.0 ± 14.6	0.145 ± 0.136
Remission (months 9 and 12) (n = 56)	21.7 ± 14.1	0.160 ± 0.146
Relapse (within 6 mo) (n = 28)	20.7 ± 14.7	0.260 ± 0.185

Data are expressed as mean ± SD. Because each variable had equal variances, multiple comparisons were performed with Tukey’s honestly significant difference test. Different letters indicate the presence of a significant difference (P < 0.05). “Relapse (within 6 mo)” means that fecal samples were obtained within 6 mo before relapse (i.e., relapse occurred within 6 mo after collection of fecal samples).