Impact of probiotic administration on the incidence of necrotising enterocolitis: A single‐centre cohort study

Abstract

AimTo examine the effect of probiotic administration on the incidence of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) in preterm infants.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study examining the incidence of NEC in a cohort of infants that received probiotics compared to those that had not, over an 18‐year period in a single centre. Infants were included if they were born <32 weeks' gestation with birthweight <1500 g and survived beyond 72 h. Infants in the probiotic group received either ABC Dophilus or Infloran. The primary outcome was the rate of NEC. The main secondary outcomes were late‐onset sepsis and mortality. Differences in these outcomes between cohorts were examined in univariate and multivariate analyses, taking account of confounding variables, reporting adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results805 infants were included in the study. Infants receiving probiotics had a lower risk of developing NEC compared with those that did not (32/419 (7.6%) vs. 14/386 (3.6%); aOR 0.37 (95% CI 0.18–0.74)). There was also a reduction in the late‐onset sepsis rate (22.4% vs. 14.2%, aOR 0.52, 95% CI 0.35–0.77) and mortality rate (9.5% vs. 4.6%, aOR 0.35, 95% CI 0.17–0.73).ConclusionThe administration of a multi‐organism probiotic formulation, including Bifidobacteria, to very preterm infants in our unit was associated with a reduced incidence of NEC, late‐onset sepsis and mortality.