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Probiotics for preterm infants: A National Retrospective Cohort Study

Journal of Perinatology volume 39, pages 533–539 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the effect of prophylactic probiotic (PP) administration on rates of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), late-onset sepsis (LOS), and mortality in preterm infants.

Study design

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of infants < 29 weeks’ gestation, admitted to neonatal intensive care units participating in the Canadian Neonatal Network between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2015. Infants in the exposure group received PP. A multiple logistic regression model with generalized estimation equation was used.

Results

A total of 3093 infants were included, 652 infants (21%) received PP. The adjusted odds ratios (aOR) of NEC (aOR 0.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.410, 0.996), mortality (aOR 0.41, 95% CI 0.26, 0.63), and a composite of NEC or mortality were significantly lower in the PP group. There was no significant difference in the aOR of LOS.

Conclusion

Prophylactic probiotic administration is associated with a reduction in NEC and mortality in preterm infants.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge all site investigators and abstractors of the Canadian Neonatal Network (CNN). We also thank the staff at the Maternal-Infant Care (MICare) Research Center at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON for organizational support of CNN. In addition, we thank Xiang Y Ye, MSc for statistical support and Sarah Hutchinson, Ph.D for editorial assistance in the preparation of this manuscript. MICare is supported by a team grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CTP 87518), the Ontario Ministry of Health, and in-kind support from Mount Sinai Hospital.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Balpreet Singh, Jehier Afifi, C. David Simpson, Souvik Mitra & Walid El-Naggar

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Prakesh S. Shah

  3. Maternal-Infant Care Research Centre, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Prakesh S. Shah

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Kingston General Hospital, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Kimberly Dow

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  1. Balpreet Singh
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on behalf of the Canadian Neonatal Network Investigators

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Correspondence to Balpreet Singh.

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A full list of Canadian Neonatal Network Site Investigators can be found in the Supplementary Information

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Singh, B., Shah, P.S., Afifi, J. et al. Probiotics for preterm infants: A National Retrospective Cohort Study. J Perinatol 39, 533–539 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-019-0315-z

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