Synbiotic in the management of infantile colic: a randomised controlled trial.

AIM: Infant colic is a frequent problem affecting up to 10-30% of infants in first 3 months of life. Results from previous trials have shown that manipulation of gut microbiota can lead to symptomatic improvements. In a randomised clinical trial, we aimed to determine efficacy of synbiotic in reducing average infant crying time at day 7 and day 30 after starting intervention. METHODS: Fifty breastfed infants aged 15-120 days with infantile colic randomly assigned to receive either the synbiotic sachet containing 1 billion CFU of: Lactobacillus casei, L. rhamnosus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium breve, L. acidophilus, B. infantis, L. bulgaricus and fructooligosacharide (Protexin Healthcare, Somerset, UK), or placebo daily for 30 days. Parents were asked to record details of crying times in a symptoms diary. The primary outcome measure was the treatment success (reduction in the daily crying time >50%) and the secondary outcome measure was symptom resolution (reduction in the daily crying time >90%). RESULTS: The treatment success was significantly higher in synbiotic group (82.6%) compared with placebo (35.7%) at day 7 (P < 0.005). At day30, treatment success was 87% and 46% in synbiotic and placebo group, respectively (P < 0.01). Symptom resolution was also higher in synbiotic group (39%) compared with placebo (7%) at day 7 (P < 0.03) but not at day 30 (56% vs.36%, P = 0.24). We encountered no complication related to synbiotic use. CONCLUSION: This synbiotic (a mixture of seven probiotic strains plus FOS) significantly improved colic symptoms in comparison with placebo.

Evaluation of immunity status to routine vaccination in pediatric liver transplant candidates.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Generally, prevention of infections by vaccination is the least invasive and most cost-effective approach to reduce the incidence of infections and the morbidity and mortality in transplant recipients. Genetic diversity and different liver disease among patients contributes to variability in immune responses to vaccines and pathogens. The aim of this study was to evaluate immunity status to different vaccinated organisms in pediatric liver-transplant candidates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The vaccination charts of 90 patients who were referred to Organ Transplant Center of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were reviewed and compare with National Immunization Program recommendation, after that 10 mL blood was drawn from these patients for serologic studies by ELISA. RESULTS: Eighty percent of the patients had protective antibody titers for poliomyelitis, 65.6% for rubella, 62.3% for diphtheria, 60% for tetanus, 57.7% for pertussis, 55.5% for measles, 42.2% for hepatitis B and 36.7% for mumps. CONCLUSION: Overall seroconversion rates were not satisfactory for many infections that may be due to lower rate of vaccination or even the underlying liver disease that interfere with optimal immunogenecity of vaccination. Therefore, vaccination charts should be periodically reviewed and updated, also repeated measurements of serum antibodies and appropriate revaccination if titers decline is recommended to prevent the vaccine-preventable disease in liver transplant candidates after transplant.