Effect of Probiotics on Feed Tolerance in Very Low Birth Weight Neonates- A Randomized Controlled Trial

Enteral feeding intolerance is a major problem in premature infants, resulting in prolonged hospitalisation and a predisposition to serious complications due to prolonged use of parenteral nutrition.Second to prematurity, feedings and feeding practices are frequently implicated in the development of necrotizing enterocolitis. Enteral supplementation of probiotics prevents severe NEC and all-cause mortality in preterm infants. Review of available evidence supports a change in practice  Following recent data, many centres are currently supplementing preterm infants routinely with probiotics.

 Feeding intolerance has been considered as a precursor of NEC and many strategies have been tried in its prevention.Probiotics by themselves, or stimulated by prebiotic fermentation, are important modulators of the intestinal immune system, helps to produce a balanced T-helper cell response and prevents an imbalance contributing in part to clinical disease. An adequate establishment of the intestinal flora after birth is strictly related to motility maturation and plays a crucial role in the development of gut barrier function and the innate and adaptative immune system. In some RCTs done for prevention of NEC, probiotics have been shown to reduce time to full feeds, hospitalization days and days on total parenteral nutrition (TPN).