: Probiotic supplementation reduces the risk of LOS in preterm infants
CONTEXT : Late-onset sepsis ( LOS ) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in preterm infants .
Despite various preventive measures , its incidence continues to remain high , hence the urgent need for additional approaches .
One such potential strategy is supplementation with probiotics .
Currently there are > 30 r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) of probiotics in preterm infants that have reported on LOS .
Enteral feeding of premature infants with Lactobacillus GG.
The objectives of this study were to determine whether or not the probiotic Lactobacillus GG can colonise the immature bowel of premature infants and if so , does colonisation result in a reduction of the size of the bowel reservoir of nosocomial pathogens such as enterobacteriaceae , enterococci , yeasts or staphylococci , and does colonisation with Lactobacillus GG have any effect on the clinical progress and outcome . Twenty preterm infants with a gestational age of 33 weeks or less who were resident on a neonatal unit were studied from the initiation of milk feeds until discharge . The infants were r and omised to receive either milk feeds or milk feeds supplemented with Lactobacillus GG 10(8 ) colony forming units twice a day for two weeks . The clinical features of the two groups of infants were similar . Orally administered Lactobacillus GG was well tolerated and did colonise the bowel of premature infants . However , colonisation with Lactobacillus GG did not reduce the faecal reservoir of potential pathogens and there was no evidence that colonisation had any positive clinical benefit for this particular group of infants
: Probiotic supplementation reduces the risk of LOS in preterm infants
CONTEXT : Late-onset sepsis ( LOS ) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in preterm infants .
Despite various preventive measures , its incidence continues to remain high , hence the urgent need for additional approaches .
One such potential strategy is supplementation with probiotics .
Currently there are > 30 r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) of probiotics in preterm infants that have reported on LOS .