Is it time for routine probiotic use in UK neonatal units?

Probiotics have been evaluated extensively in preterm babies for more than 30 years. Early studies in the 1990s sought to ascertain whether or not these live micro-organisms could colonise the preterm intestinal tract, while others evaluated their potential to improve nutritional outcomes. From the late 1990s, a series of small studies (including randomised controlled trials (RCTs)) reported outcomes of reduced necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) in babies receiving probiotics and interest in their use as a preventative strategy for NEC accelerated from the early 2000s.1 In 2010, a meta-analysis concluded that probiotics were effective at reducing stage II NEC and all-cause mortality and recommended no more placebo controlled trials if a suitable product was available.2 Some neonatal centres in the UK were pioneers in the early adoption of probiotic use. Granger and colleagues report the findings from a pre-implementation and post-implementation study of probiotic use at a...

Source: Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition - June 17, 2022 Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Authors: Fleming, P. Tags: Editor's choice Editorials Source Type: research