AND RELEVANCE Although L reuteri may be effective as treatment for crying in exclusively breastfed infants with colic , there is still insufficient evidence to support probiotic use to manage colic , especially in formula-fed infants , or to prevent infant crying .
IMPORTANCE  Excessive infant crying  is common , distressing , but without proven effective prevention or management options .
Probiotics may be a promising solution .
OBJECTIVE To examine whether probiotics are effective in the prevention/management of crying ( " colic " ) in infants 3 months or younger .
Safety and Tolerance of a Probiotic Formula in Early Infancy Comparing Two Probiotic Agents: A Pilot Study
Objective : To compare the safety and tolerance of two formulas , supplemented with different probiotic agents , in early infancy . Design : Prospect i ve r and omized placebo-controlled trial . Setting : Clinics of a University Medical Center . Subjects : Full-term healthy infants aged less than 4 months . Intervention : Infants were r and omly assigned for 4 weeks to a st and ard milk-based formula supplemented with either Bifidobacterium lactis ( BB-12 ) , Lactobacillus reuteri ( ATCC 55730 ) or a probiotics-free formula . Measures of Outcome : Growth parameters , daily characteristics of feeding , stooling and behavior , and side effects . Results : Fifty-nine infants , aged 3–65 days , were included . Subjects in all three groups were similar at entry in terms of gestational age , birth weight , sex , growth parameters and breast feeding rate prior to the study . The supplemented formulas were well accepted and did not reveal any adverse effects . A comparison of growth parameters , and variables of feeding , stooling and crying and irritability did not reveal any significant differences between groups . Conclusions : The use of formula supplemented with either Lactobacillus reuteri or Bifidobacterium lactis in early infancy , was safe , well tolerated and did not adversely affect growth , stooling habits or infant behavior
AND RELEVANCE Although L reuteri may be effective as treatment for crying in exclusively breastfed infants with colic , there is still insufficient evidence to support probiotic use to manage colic , especially in formula-fed infants , or to prevent infant crying .
IMPORTANCE  Excessive infant crying  is common , distressing , but without proven effective prevention or management options .
Probiotics may be a promising solution .
OBJECTIVE To examine whether probiotics are effective in the prevention/management of crying ( " colic " ) in infants 3 months or younger .