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Probiotics for the prevention of necrotising enterocolitis in very low‐birth‐weight infants: a meta‐analysis and systematic review
Author(s) -
Thomas John P.,
Raine Tim,
Reddy Sanath,
Belteki Gusztav
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.13902
Subject(s) - medicine , probiotic , meta analysis , low birth weight , necrotizing enterocolitis , enterocolitis , incidence (geometry) , pediatrics , birth weight , randomized controlled trial , pregnancy , genetics , physics , bacteria , optics , biology
We performed an updated meta‐analysis incorporating the results of recent randomised controlled trials ( RCT s) to measure the effectiveness of probiotic supplementation in preventing necrotising enterocolitis ( NEC ) and death in very low‐birth‐weight ( VLBW ) infants, and to investigate any differences in efficacy by probiotic agent. Using meta‐regression analysis, we assessed the contribution of other measured variables on the overall effect size and between‐study variability. Conclusion: Overall, probiotics lead to significant reductions in NEC incidence and mortality in VLBW infants. Differences in probiotic agents and the influence of prenatal steroids and feeding regimens may explain the differences in outcomes between studies.