Probiotics may ease tummy trouble in preemies

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In preterm newborns who are exclusively bottle-fed, treatment with the probiotic organism Lactobacillus reuteri, given daily for 30 days, improves gut function, a study shows.

For preterm newborns, use of probiotics -- micro-organisms that help maintain the natural balance of healthy organisms, the "good" bacteria, in the digestive tract -- should be "routine," Dr. Flavia Indrio from University of Bari, Italy told Reuters Health.

Indrio and colleagues investigated the effects of the probiotic L. reuteri on feeding intolerance, bowel habits, and gastrointestinal movement patterns in 30 preterm infants. Ten were breast-fed, while the other 20 were bottle-fed. The bottle-fed infants were randomized to also receive placebo or L. reuteri.

Formula-fed infants receiving L. reuteri and infants fed breast milk had significant decreases in the number of episodes of spitting up and in the average daily crying time, and significant increases in the number of stools compared with infants given placebo, the team found.

Digestion was significantly faster among newborns receiving L. reuteri, the researchers note, and their gastrointestinal motility patterns resembled those of newborns fed with breast milk.

There were no side effects related to L. reuteri administration, according to a report of the study published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

"Our results suggest a useful role for L. reuteri supplementation in ameliorating feeding tolerance and improving gut function in newborns," Indrio and colleagues conclude.

SOURCE: The Journal of Pediatrics, July 2008.