• Evette Van Niekerk, Daniel G Nel, Reneé Blaauw, and Gert F Kirsten.
• Division Human Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, PO Box 241, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa evettev@sun.ac.za.
• J. Trop. Pediatr. 2015 Jun 1; 61 (3): 155-64.

ObjectiveTo assess the effect of probiotics on the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in premature infants born to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive and HIV-negative women.Patients And MethodsHIV-exposed and HIV-unexposed premature infants were randomized to either the probiotic or the placebo group. The probiotic consisted of 1 × 10(9) colony-forming units, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium infantis per day.ResultsIn total, 74 HIV-exposed and 110 HIV-unexposed infants were enrolled and randomized. The incidence of death [4 (5.4%) vs. 7 (6%); p = 0.79] and NEC [4 (5%) vs. 5 (5%); p = 0.76] did not differ significantly between the HIV-exposed and HIV-unexposed groups. A significant difference was found for total NEC incidence between the study and control groups [3 (3%) vs. 6 (6%); p = 0.029]. The incidence of NEC in the HIV-exposed group differed significantly [Bells I 2 (5%) vs. Bells III 2 (5%); p = 0.045).ConclusionProbiotic supplementation reduced the incidence of NEC in the premature very low birth weight infants; however, results failed to show a lower incidence of NEC in HIV-exposed premature infants. A reduction in the severity of disease was found in the HIV-exposed study group.© The Author [2015]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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