Suplementación probiótica con Lactobacillus y Bifidobacterium para la prevención de enterocolitis necrosante en recién nacidos pretérmino de muy bajo peso.

BACKGROUND: The high morbidity of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in very low birth weight infants (<1500 grams) (VLBW) requires the search for prevention strategies that are more effective than treatment. Current evidence supports the use of probiotics as protective factors. OBJECTIVES: To determine if probiotic supplementation in VLBW infants represents a preventive factor for the development of NEC. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study conducted in 145 VLBW infants, where the presence of NEC was evaluated in populations supplemented with L. reuteri, B. lactis or not supplemented. The comparison among groups was performed with the chi-square test for maximum likelihood-ratio. RESULTS: Of 66 supplemented patients, 86.4% did not present NEC (RR 0.23 [95% Ci: 0.12-0.43]; p<0.0001). In those not supplemented, the incidence of NEC was 59.5%. An NNT of 1.7 to 3.1 was obtained. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the heterogeneity in clinical studies of probiotic supplementation, the evidence is strongly in favor of probiotic treatment for the prevention of NEC. This study found that supplementation from the first days of life at doses of 600 million CFUs/ day was more effective in preventing the presentation of NEC than higher doses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]