Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Dec;96(51):e9375.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000009375.

Efficacy of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 for infantile colic: Systematic review with network meta-analysis

Affiliations

Efficacy of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 for infantile colic: Systematic review with network meta-analysis

Pedro Gutiérrez-Castrellón et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Dec.

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: 5% to 40% of infants cry excessively, usually accompanied by fussiness and excessive of gas. There are no uniform criteria for treatment of infantile colic. Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 has been used with promising results. The objective of this network-meta-analysis (NMA) is to compare the efficacy of L reuteri DSM 17938 with other interventions for infantile colic.

Methods: RCTs, published between 1960 and 2015 for the treatment of infantile colic were included. Primary outcome was duration of crying after 21 to 28 days of treatment. Different databases were searched. Information was analyzed using control group as central axis. A random effect model was used. Hedges standard mean difference (SMD) and odds ratio (OR) were calculated. A SUCRA analysis was performed to evaluate superiority for each intervention.

Results: 32 RCTs were analyzed, including 2242 patients. Studies with L reuteri DSM 17938 versus Ctrl., Diet versus Ctrl. and Acupuncture versus Ctrl. were the most influential studies in the NMA. L reuteri DSM 17938 [WMD -51.3 h (CI95% -72.2 to -30.5 h), P .0001] and dietetic approaches [WMD -37.4 h (CI95% -56.1 to -18.7 h), P .0001] were superior compared to the other treatments.

Conclusions: L reuteri DSM 17938 and some dietetic approaches are better to other interventions for treatment of infantile colic.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no financial and conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of analyzed studies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Network meta-analysis of multiple treatments for infantile colic.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Contribution plot for the network meta-analysis.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forrest plot of multiple treatments for infantile colic.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparison adjusted funnel plot of multiple treatments for infantile colic.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Ranking plot of multiple treatments for infantile colic.

References

    1. Brazelton TB. Crying in infancy. Pediatrics 1962;29:579–88. - PubMed
    1. Illingworth RS. Crying in infants and children. Br Med J 1955;1:75–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Anabrees J, Indrio F, Paes B, et al. Probiotics for infantile colic: a systematic review. BMC Pediatr 2013;13:186. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lucassen PL, Assendelft WJ, van Eijk JT, et al. Systematic review of the occurrence of infantile colic in the community. Arch Dis Child 2001;84:398–403. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Steutel NF, Benninga MA, Langendam MW, et al. Reporting outcome measures in trials of infant colic. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2014;59:341–6. - PubMed

Publication types