Intestinal colic is a common functional disorder of the gastrointestinal tract in children in the first year of life and causes visits to the pediatrician in the first half of life.

The aim of the study, carried out in Italy and published in the December issue of the journal Beneficial Microbes for 2014, was to study the efficacy of the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 for intestinal colic.

The study included children from 4 children's centers in northwest Italy. 138 patients were eligible for participation, 113 were randomized and 105 completed the study. The study included newborns less than 10 days old, with a gestational age at birth of 37 to 42 weeks, a body weight of 2500 g to 4300 g and the absence of pathology during the physical examination. The study did not include premature infants and children with signs of perinatal hypoxia or necrotizing enterocolitis. Patients were randomized to receive 5 drops of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (108 CFU) with 400 IU of vitamin D3 or only 400 IU of vitamin D3 per day.

The main measure of effectiveness was the appointment of pain medication (cimetropium bromide at least 3 times a week or simethicone at least 5 times a week) from the time of enrollment in the study until '' at 12 weeks. Additional analysis was performed for children who switched from exclusive breastfeeding to mixed or completely artificial feeding during this 12-week study period.

Information on the number of calls to the pediatrician and the number of outpatient visits to pediatricians for intestinal colic was analyzed during the study. Comparing the 2 groups, the relative risk was 0.04 (95% confidence interval 0.01-0.31) for cymetropium bromide, 0.24 (95% CI 0.14-0.41 ) for simethicone and 0.37 (95% CI 0.17-0.80) in children who have received artificial feeding, which indicates a protective effect L. reuteri. In the group receiving L. reuteri, there were fewer consultations with a doctor about episodes of intestinal colic compared to the control group (P less than 0.0001). Thus, the probiotic L. reuteri DSM 17938 in a test dose may reduce the incidence of intestinal colic, the number of visits to a pediatrician thereon, the frequency of use of analgesics and , therefore, parents' concerns about this problem.