Probiotics supplement in children with severe hand, foot, and mouth disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Background: Severe hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is an acute infectious disease caused by infection with serotypes of Enterovirus A, most commonly by enterovirus A71 and coxsackievirus A16. Clinical symptoms usually include fever, malaise, rashes on hands and feet, and oral vesicles. Of note, severe and even life-threatening complications can develop rapidly in young children, such as acute pulmonary edema, cardiopulmonary failure, aseptic meningitis, encephalitis and acute flaccid paralysis. Probiotics supplement have been demonstrated play a positive role as a therapeutic approaches for modulation of gut microbiota. This study aims to systematically investigate the efficacy and safety of probiotics for children with severe HFMD.