DO PROBIOTICS HAVE A FUTURE IN NEONATOLOGY? (ANALYSIS OF THE LATEST DATA. PART 3)

Abstract

The issue of feasibility and effectiveness of probiotics use in newborns is still discussable. A position letter of the Committee on nutrition of the European Society for Pediatric NutritionGastroenterology, Hepatology, and(ESPGHAN) and the Working group of the ESPGHAN on probiotics and prebiotics issues was published in May 2020 in “Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition” magazine as for the use of probiotics in premature newborns. The third part of the literature continues with the position paper and the results of many randomized controlled clinical trials of probiotics. The article considers the answers to 6 clinical questions posed by the working group of the Committee to assess the feasibility of use, routes of administration, dosage and duration of use, as well as the effectiveness and quality of probiotic drugs. It was proved that probiotics, in general, could decrease the level of necrotising enterocolitis, sepsis, and mortality. On the other hand, an increasing number of commercial products containing probiotics of non optimal quality are available. In addition, a large number of departments in the world regularly suggest probiotic supplements as a treatment standard despite the absence of any solid evidence. Moreover, the emphasis was placed on issues of safety of probiotic supplements for premature newborns. Guarantee of quality of probiotic product is deliverance of probiotic strains by transfer genes of resistance to antibiotics, the ability to regularly detect sepsis while using probiotics.