SynthesisMedicine2019
Which is the best probiotic treatment strategy to prevent the necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants: A network meta-analysis revealing the efficacy and safety.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05945017 (Probiotics and the Neurodevelopment in the Premature Infant <32 Weeks Gestational Age and <1500g), which is not on this map. Cited by 13 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Probiotics and the Neurodevelopment in the Premature Infant <32 Weeks Gestational Age and <1500g
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Probiotics to prevent necrotising enterocolitis in very preterm or very low birth weight infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Probiotics to prevent necrotising enterocolitis in very preterm or very low birth weight infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Probiotic Supplementation During the Perinatal and Infant Period: Effects on Gut Dysbiosis and Disease.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Effect of a Multi-Strain Probiotic on the Incidence and Severity of Necrotizing Enterocolitis and Feeding Intolerances in Preterm Neonates.Nutrients · 2022Trial
- Consequences of host-microbiome interactions in preterm infants.Infection and immunity · 2025Review
- Changes in intestinal bacterial characteristics during hospitalization in the NICU in very low birth weight infants.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2025Article
- Bifidobacterium longum subsp infantis (EVC001) is associated with reduced incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis stage ≥2 and bloody stools in premature babies.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2025Article
- Lactobacillus rhamnosus modulates murine neonatal gut microbiota and inflammation caused by pathogenic Escherichia coli.BMC microbiology · 2024Article
- Bacillus clausii for Gastrointestinal Disorders: A Narrative Literature Review.Advances in therapy · 2022Review
- Regulatory T Cells in Development and Prediction of Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm Neonates: A Scoping Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Factors influencing development of the infant microbiota: from prenatal period to early infancy.Clinical and experimental pediatrics · 2022Article
- Current Status of Probiotics for Preterm Infants.Indian journal of pediatrics · 2021Review
- The effect of daily probiotics on the incidence and severity of necrotizing enterocolitis in infants with very low birth weight.Canadian journal of surgery. Journal canadien de chirurgieArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious studies have neglected to report the specific action of different probiotic genera in preterm infants. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of specific probiotic genera, we performed a network meta-analysis (NMA) to identify the best prevention strategy for necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants.
methodsMEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials had been searched for randomized control trials reporting the probiotics strategy for premature infants.
resultsWe identified 34 eligible studies of 9161 participants. The intervention in the observation group was to add probiotics for feeding: Lactobacilli in 6 studies; Bifidobacterium in 8 studies; Bacillus in 1 study; Saccharomyces in 4 studies and probiotic mixture in 15 studies. This NMA showed a significant advantage of probiotic mixture and Bifidobacterium to prevent the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants. A probiotic mixture showed effectiveness in reducing mortality in preterm infants.
conclusionThe recent literature has reported a total of 5 probiotic strategies, including Bacillus, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Saccharomyces, and probiotic mixture. Our thorough review and NMA provided a piece of available evidence to choose optimal probiotics prophylactic strategy for premature infants. The results indicated that probiotic mixture and Bifidobacterium showed a stronger advantage to use in preterm infants; the other probiotic genera failed to show an obvious effect to reduce the incidence of NEC, sepsis and all-cause death. More trials need to be performed to determine the optimal probiotic treatment strategy to prevent preterm related complications.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.