Characterizing the Intestinal Microbiome in Infantile Colic: Findings Based on an Integrative Review of the Literature.

Approximately 20% of newborns will develop symptoms of infantile colic starting around 2 weeks of age. While health care providers have a greater understanding of the impact that inconsolable crying has on family dynamics, maternal–infant bonding, and health care resources, opportunities for study still exist in the area of intestinal microbiome research. Advances in molecular technologies utilizing 16S ribosomal RNA and ribosomal DNA created the opportunity for researchers to index the intestinal microbial composition to better understand its association with infantile colic. This integrative review provides a synopsis of the findings from five recent studies that utilized nonculture-based approaches to characterize the intestinal microbiome of infants with colic. Articles were identified through PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar using the search terms colic, crying, fussiness, microbiome, and microbiota. The general aim of the research studies was to better understand the potential association of intes...