There are growing numbers of evidence indicating the beneficial effects of normal enteric flora (probiotics) with regard to the host defense against infection. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that probiotics such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria have inhibitory effects on other pathogenic bacteria.This evidence, along with the results of recent clinical studies, has demonstrated the beneficial effects of probiotics in the prevention of NEC in VLBW infants.However, most of the studies reported nosocomial infection as a secondary outcome and the findings were controversial regarding probiotics efficacy in preventing nosocomial infections. There is only one study that was aimed to investigate effects of probiotic on the incidence of nosocomial infection.~Given the potential benefit of probiotics against infection and the lack of clinical studies in this regard, we conducted a randomized clinical trial to determine whether probiotic supplementation (in the form of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium infantis) could reduce nosocomial infection rate among preterm VLBW infants in a intensive care nursery setting.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether oral probiotic supplementation could reduce the incidence of nosocomial infections in preterm infants.