AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS There is no clear evidence that probiotics are more effective than placebo at preventing infantile colic ; however , daily crying time appeared to reduce with probiotic use compared to placebo .
There were no clear differences in adverse effects .
BACKGROUND Infantile colic is typically defined as full-force crying for at least three hours per day , on at least three days per week , for at least three weeks .
Infantile colic affects a large number of infants and their families worldwide .
Its symptoms are broad and general , and while not indicative of disease , may represent a serious underlying condition in a small percentage of infants who may need a medical assessment .
Probiotics are live microorganisms that alter the microflora of the host and provide beneficial health effects .
The most common probiotics used are of Lactobacillus , Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus .
There is growing evidence to suggest that intestinal flora in colicky infants differ from those in healthy infants , and it is suggested that probiotics can redress this balance and provide a healthier intestinal microbiota l and scape .
The low cost and easy availability of probiotics makes them a potential prophylactic solution to reduce the incidence and prevalence of infantile colic .
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy and safety of prophylactic probiotics in preventing or reducing severity of infantile colic .
Lactobacillus GG improves recovery in infants with blood in the stools and presumptive allergic colitis compared with extensively hydrolyzed formula alone.
OBJECTIVES To determine the benefits of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG ( LGG ) in an extensively hydrolyzed casein formula ( EHCF ) in improving hematochezia and fecal calprotectin over EHCF alone . STUDY DESIGN Fecal calprotectin was compared in 30 infants with hematochezia and 4 weeks after milk elimination with that of a healthy group . We also compared fecal calprotectin and hematochezia on 26 formula-fed infants r and omly assigned to EHCF with LGG ( Nutramigen LGG ) ( EHCF + LGG ) or without ( Nutramigen ) ( EHCF - LGG )  and on 4 breastfed infants whose mothers eliminated dairy . RESULTS Fecal calprotectin in those with hematochezia was significantly higher than in comparisons ( mean + /- SD 325.89 + /- 152.31 vs 131.97 + /- 37.98 microg/g stool , t = 6.79 , P < .0001 ) . At 4 weeks , fecal calprotectin decreased to 50 % of baseline but was still significantly higher than in comparisons ( 157.5 + /- 149.13 vs 93.72 + /- 36.65 microg/g , P = .03 ) . Fecal calprotectin mean decrease was significantly larger among EHCF + LGG compared with EHCF - LGG ( -214.5 + /- 107.93 vs -112.7 + /- 105.27 microg/g , t = 2.43 , P = .02 ) . At 4 weeks , none of the EHCF + LGG had blood in stools , and 5/14 on EHCF - LGG did ( P = .002 ) . CONCLUSION Fecal calprotectin is elevated in infants with hematochezia and possible allergic colitis . EHCF + LGG result ed in significant improvement of hematochezia and fecal calprotectin compared with the EHCF alone
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS There is no clear evidence that probiotics are more effective than placebo at preventing infantile colic ; however , daily crying time appeared to reduce with probiotic use compared to placebo .
There were no clear differences in adverse effects .
BACKGROUND Infantile colic is typically defined as full-force crying for at least three hours per day , on at least three days per week , for at least three weeks .
Infantile colic affects a large number of infants and their families worldwide .
Its symptoms are broad and general , and while not indicative of disease , may represent a serious underlying condition in a small percentage of infants who may need a medical assessment .
Probiotics are live microorganisms that alter the microflora of the host and provide beneficial health effects .
The most common probiotics used are of Lactobacillus , Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus .
There is growing evidence to suggest that intestinal flora in colicky infants differ from those in healthy infants , and it is suggested that probiotics can redress this balance and provide a healthier intestinal microbiota l and scape .
The low cost and easy availability of probiotics makes them a potential prophylactic solution to reduce the incidence and prevalence of infantile colic .
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy and safety of prophylactic probiotics in preventing or reducing severity of infantile colic .