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Probiotic use to improve health is not new; but recently, it has attracted much attention concerning human health and diseases. The human gut is a delicate ecosystem where bacteria and host cells interact with each other. This is an important part of gut homeostasis and human development. Disruption of this sensitive ecosystem may have detrimental health repercussions linked to impaired gut microbiota (GM). GM were extensively examined as an underlying mechanism for disease development and progression. Additionally, it was used as a tailored method for preventing and treating disease. Because of the strong association between GM, health, and disease, there has been much interest in employing probiotics or living microorganisms, to regulate GM to prevent or cure specific diseases. Herein, probiotics' role in enhancing women's and pediatric well-being was addressed as a marker of disease and as therapeutic avenues; where we discussed probiotics indications, efficacy, safety profiles, and future prospects in clinical practice.

The study aimed to assess the frequency of neurological presentations of pediatric COVID-19 patients and compare the clinical and laboratory characteristics and the outcomes of those who presented with neurological complaints and those without complaints. A cross-sectional study enrolled 84 children diagnosed with COVID-19 at the emergency department over 12 months. All previously healthy children with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 were included in the study. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was made by positive PCR of a nasopharyngeal swab. Patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 included COVID-19 patients with neurological complaints, and group 2 included COVID-19 patients with non-neurological complaints. Demographical, clinical, and laboratory characteristics were compared among groups. During the study period, 84 children aged 2 months-15years were diagnosed with COVID-19. Only 17 patients (20.2%) presented with new-onset neurological complaints. Seizure was the most common neurological complaint (58.8%), and febrile convulsion was the most frequent diagnosis of COVID-19 patients with neurological presentation (47.1%). C-reactive protein (CRP) and duration of hospitalization were higher in patients with neurological presentations, with P values of 0.002 and 0.001, respectively. All patients with neurological complaints survived the acute illness. Neurological symptoms were present in 20% of the COVID-19 pediatric patients, having higher CRP than patients with non-neurological presentations. CRP can be used as a reliable indicator for neurological symptoms in COVID-19 pediatric patients.

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