Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics
| Characteristic | Treatment group; no. (%) of participants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No probiotic n = 494 | Probiotic n = 515 | No gum n = 330 | Sorbitol gum n = 337 | Xylitol gum n = 342 | |
| Age group | |||||
| Adults (≥ 15 yr) | 381/482 (79.0) | 408/504 (81.0) | 265/325 (81.5) | 268/334 (80.2) | 256/327 (78.3) |
| Children (3–15 yr) | 101/482 (21.0) | 96/504 (19.0) | 60/325 (18.5) | 66/334 (19.8) | 71/327 (21.7) |
| No. of episodes of sore throat in 3 mo before study | |||||
| 0 | 86/479 (18.0) | 107/507 (21.1) | 69/325 (21.2) | 55/336 (16.4) | 69/325 (21.2) |
| 1 | 117/479 (24.4) | 124/507 (24.5) | 93/325 (28.6) | 78/336 (23.2) | 70/325 (21.5) |
| 2 | 120/479 (25.1) | 119/507 (23.5) | 61/325 (18.8) | 92/336 (27.4) | 86/325 (26.5) |
| ≥ 3 | 156/479 (32.6) | 157/507 (31.0) | 102/325 (31.4) | 111/336 (33.0) | 100/325 (30.8) |
| Past tonsillectomy | 51/494 (10.3) | 55/515 (10.7) | 37/330 (11.2) | 36/337 (10.7) | 33/342 (9.6) |
| Ever smoked | 176/473 (37.2) | 186/490 (38.0) | 113/316 (35.8) | 130/329 (39.5) | 119/318 (37.4) |
| Clinical signs and symptoms at first consultation | |||||
| Substantial pharyngeal inflammation | 321/482 (66.6) | 342/503 (68.0) | 214/323 (66.2) | 237/333 (71.2) | 212/329 (64.4) |
| Cough | 258/486 (53.1) | 274/505 (54.2) | 185/326 (56.7) | 167/335 (49.9) | 180/330 (54.5) |
| Temperature > 37.5°C | 39/487 (8.0) | 25/506 (4.9) | 22/327 (6.7) | 23/334 (6.9) | 19/332 (5.7) |
| Pus on tonsils | 158/479 (33.0) | 151/502 (30.1) | 93/320 (29.1) | 105/333 (31.5) | 111/328 (33.8) |
| Cervical nodes | 260/471 (55.2) | 292/494 (59.1) | 168/316 (53.2) | 200/329 (60.8) | 184/320 (57.5) |
| Duration of illness > 7 d (before consultation) | 107/481 (22.2) | 109/505 (21.6) | 73/323 (22.6) | 73/333 (21.9) | 70/330 (21.2) |