Enteral supplementation of probiotics prevents severe NEC and all cause mortality in preterm infants .
There is insufficient data with regard to the benefits and potential adverse effects in the most at risk infants weighing less than 1000 grams at birth
BACKGROUND Necrotizing enterocolitis ( NEC ) and nosocomial sepsis are associated with increased morbidity and mortality in preterm infants .
Through prevention of bacterial migration across the mucosa , competitive exclusion of pathogenic bacteria , and enhancing the immune responses of the host , prophylactic enteral probiotics ( live microbial supplements ) may play a role in reducing NEC and the associated morbidity .
OBJECTIVES To compare the efficacy and safety of prophylactic enteral probiotics administration versus placebo or no treatment in the prevention of severe NEC or sepsis , or both , in preterm infants .
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY Probiotics for prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants Necrotizing enterocolitis ( NEC ) is a serious disease that affects the bowel of premature infants in the first few weeks of life .
Although the cause of NEC is not entirely known , milk feeding and bacterial growth play a role .
Probiotics ( dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial bacteria or yeast ) have been used to prevent NEC .
Neurodevelopmental and growth impairment among extremely low-birth-weight infants with neonatal infection.
CONTEXT Neonatal infections are frequent complications of extremely low-birth-weight ( ELBW ) infants receiving intensive care . OBJECTIVE To determine if neonatal infections in ELBW infants are associated with increased risks of adverse neurodevelopmental and growth sequelae in early childhood . DESIGN , SETTING , AND PARTICIPANTS Infants weighing 401 to 1000 g at birth ( born in 1993 - 2001 ) were enrolled in a prospect ively collected very low-birth-weight registry at academic medical centers participating in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network .  Neurodevelopmental and growth outcomes were assessed at a comprehensive follow-up visit at 18 to 22 months of corrected gestational age and compared by infection group . Eighty percent of survivors completed the follow-up visit and 6093 infants were studied . Registry data were used to classify infants by type of infection : uninfected ( n = 2161 ) , clinical infection alone ( n = 1538 ) , sepsis ( n = 1922 ) , sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis ( n = 279 ) , or meningitis with or without sepsis ( n = 193 ) . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Cognitive and neuromotor development , neurologic status , vision and hearing , and growth ( weight , length , and head circumference ) were assessed at follow-up . RESULTS The majority of ELBW survivors ( 65 % ) had at least 1 infection during their hospitalization after birth . Compared with uninfected infants , those in each of the 4 infection groups were significantly more likely to have adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes at follow-up , including cerebral palsy ( range of significant odds ratios [ ORs ] , 1.4 - 1.7 ) , low Bayley Scales of Infant Development II scores on the mental development index ( ORs , 1.3 - 1.6 ) and psychomotor development index ( ORs , 1.5 - 2.4 ) , and vision impairment ( ORs , 1.3 - 2.2 ) . Infection in the neonatal period was also associated with impaired head growth , a known predictor of poor neurodevelopmental outcome . CONCLUSIONS This large cohort study suggests that neonatal infections among ELBW infants are associated with poor neurodevelopmental and growth outcomes in early childhood . Additional studies are needed to eluci date the pathogenesis of brain injury in infants with infection so that novel interventions to improve these outcomes can be explored
Enteral supplementation of probiotics prevents severe NEC and all cause mortality in preterm infants .
There is insufficient data with regard to the benefits and potential adverse effects in the most at risk infants weighing less than 1000 grams at birth
BACKGROUND Necrotizing enterocolitis ( NEC ) and nosocomial sepsis are associated with increased morbidity and mortality in preterm infants .
Through prevention of bacterial migration across the mucosa , competitive exclusion of pathogenic bacteria , and enhancing the immune responses of the host , prophylactic enteral probiotics ( live microbial supplements ) may play a role in reducing NEC and the associated morbidity .
OBJECTIVES To compare the efficacy and safety of prophylactic enteral probiotics administration versus placebo or no treatment in the prevention of severe NEC or sepsis , or both , in preterm infants .
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY Probiotics for prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants Necrotizing enterocolitis ( NEC ) is a serious disease that affects the bowel of premature infants in the first few weeks of life .
Although the cause of NEC is not entirely known , milk feeding and bacterial growth play a role .
Probiotics ( dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial bacteria or yeast ) have been used to prevent NEC .