Probiotic intervention to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis in extremely preterm infants born before 32 weeks of gestation or with a birth weight of less than 1500 g.

Introduction There is evidence of the beneficial effects of probiotics to prevent necrotizing enterocolitis in extremely preterm infants. Probiotic prevention has been used since 2015 in the Division of Neonatology of Hospital Hernan Henriquez Aravena, Temuco, Chile. Objectiv To assess the impact of this probiotic on the incidence, severity, surgical treatment requirement, and fatality rate of necrotizing enterocolitis in extremely preterm infants. Patients and methods Retrospective, cohort study. Data were analyzed using Stata. Fisher's exact test was used to compare percentages, and the unequal variances t-test, for averages. Infants discharged between 2015 and 2017 received Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis (LRP), in a single dose (1 x 108 colony forming units), since the first days of life until 36 weeks of corrected gestational age. Controls discharged between 2012 and 2014 did not receive LRP. Results Some degree of enterocolitis was observed in 3.45 % of cases: stage I (64 %), stage II (18 %), stage III (18 %); 18 % required surgery, and there were no deaths. Among historical controls, 3.75 % had enterocolitis: stage I (12 %), stage II (35 %), stage III (53 %); 64.7 % required surgery, and 47 % died. In the intervention group, stage II or III accounted for 36 % of cases, whereas in the control group, for 88 %. Conclusion Administering a single daily dose of LRP to extremely preterm infants did not affect the incidence of enterocolitis, but reduced its severity, fatality rate, and surgical treatment requirement.