Pediatr Gastroenterol Hepatol Nutr.  2019 Sep;22(5):453-459. 10.5223/pghn.2019.22.5.453.

Effect of Synbiotic on the Treatment of Jaundice in Full Term Neonates: A Randomized Clinical Trial

• Ahmadipour S
• Baharvand
• Rahmani P
• Hasanvand
• Mohsenzadeh A

• KMID: 2457747
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5223/pghn.2019.22.5.453

Abstract

PURPOSE
Jaundice accounts for most hospital admissions in the neonatal period. Nowadays, in addition to phototherapy, other auxiliary methods are used to reduce jaundice and the length of hospitalization. This study aimed to investigate the effect of probiotics on the treatment of hyper-bilirubinemia in full-term neonates.
METHODS
In this randomized clinical trial, 83 full-term neonates, who were admitted to the hospital to receive phototherapy in the first 6 months of 2015, were randomly divided into two groups: synbiotic (SG, n=40) and control (CG, n=43). Both groups received phototherapy but the SG also received 5 drops/day of synbiotics. Serum bilirubin, urine, stool, feeding frequency, and weight were measured daily until hospital discharge. A p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS
The mean total serum bilirubin in the SG was lower than that in the CG (9.38±2.37 and 11.17±2.60 mg/dL, respectively). The urine and stool frequency in the SG was significantly higher than that in the CG (p<0.05). The duration of hospitalization in the SG was shorter than that in the CG.
CONCLUSION
Use of synbiotics as an adjuvant therapy had a significant treatment effect on jaundice in full-term neonates. Further studies including larger samples with long follow-up periods are essential to confirm the benefits of routine use of synbiotics in neonatal patients with jaundice.

Keyword

Hyper-bilirubinemia; Probiotics; Synbiotics; Phototherapy; Jaundice; Neonate infant

MeSH Terms

Bilirubin
Follow-Up Studies
Hospitalization
Humans
Infant, Newborn*
Jaundice*
Phototherapy
Probiotics
Synbiotics*
Bilirubin

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Flow chart of the study.

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  Fig. 2 Variables examined in the synbiotic (S) and control (C) groups (mean±standard error of the mean).

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  Fig. 3 Variables examined in the symbiotic (S) and control (C) groups during hospital stay (mean±standard error of the mean).

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