The effect of prophylactic probiotic supplementation on necrotizing enterocolitis in very low birth weight infants

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common non-congenital disease of the gastrointestinal tract in infants born prematurely accounting for significant morbidity and mortality. Despite nearly seventy years of research, the exact etiology of NEC is not fully understood. While several nations have incorporated probiotic supplementation into their standard of care for high risk infants, many hospitals in the United States and specifically the American Academy of Pediatrics have not. This paper will investigate the effect of prophylactic probiotic supplementation on NEC morbidity compared to standard nutritional management in very low birth weight infants