Parental Perception and Experience in Infants with Colic Symptoms Receiving Probiotic Supplementation

Abstract

 Objective: 

We aimed to evaluate the effects of probiotic drops containing the microbial strains Bifidobacterium breve BR03 and Bifidobacterium breve B632 on symptoms and quality-of-life indicators in infants aged 0–12 months under real-life conditions, particularly in subgroups such as colic, cesarean delivery, prematurity, hospitalization, and antibiotic exposure. 

Materials and Methods:

 This four-center, multicenter study was conducted in the pediatric clinics of Prof. Dr. Cemil Taşcıoğlu City Hospital, Yalova Training and Research Hospital, Esenyurt State Hospital, and Sancaktepe Prof. Dr. İlhan Varank Training and Research Hospital. Symptoms of a total of 150 infants aged 0–12 months were compared before and after probiotic use using a parental questionnaire. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for continuous/ordinal variables, and the McNemar test was used for binary variables (statistical significance set at p<0.05). 

Results:

 The median age of the infants was 4.5 months (25th–75th percentile: 2–8), and 56% of the cases were male. The reasons for initiating probiotic use were irritability (42.7%), colic (26.7%), gas (22.7%), and recommendation (8.0%). The median duration of use was 90 days, and the median daily dose was 5 drops. After probiotic use, a marked improvement was observed in crying-related parameters: median crying duration decreased from 1 hour/day (25th–75th percentile: 1–3) to 0 hours/day (25th–75th percentile: 0–1), median crying frequency decreased from 2 (25th–75th percentile: 2–3) to 1 (25th–75th percentile: 1–1), and the median number of daily crying episodes decreased from 10 (25th–75th percentile: 8–10) to 2 (25th–75th percentile: 2–4). In parallel, significant reductions were observed in the severity scores of gasses, abdominal distension, and irritability, along with increases in maternal and paternal sleep duration and a decrease in maternal depressive mood score (all comparisons p<0.001). In binary symptom assessment, the presence of gas decreased from 63.3% to 7.3%, irritability from 47.3% to 11.3%, and abdominal distension from 63.3% to 22.7%, while the proportion of infants reported to have nighttime sleep increased from 32.0% to 68.0% (all p<0.001). 

Conclusion:

 The use of probiotic drops containing the microbial strains Bifidobacterium breve BR03 and Bifidobacterium breve B632 was found to be associated with clinically meaningful improvement in gastrointestinal complaints and parent-related sleep and mood parameters, as well as good tolerability, in infants aged 0–12 months.

Keywords

• probiotic
• Bifidobacterium breve
• infantile colic
• gas
• sleep

Supporting Institution

No financial support was received for this study.

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval: The study was evaluated by the Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Istanbul Prof. Dr. Cemil Taşcıoğlu City Hospital at the meeting held on 11.08.2025 and was found ethically appropriate with decision number 255. Informed consent: Written informed consent was obtained from the parents of all cases included in the study. Conflict of interest: The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Thanks

The authors thank all participants for their contribution.

Probiotik Takviyesi Kullanan Kolik Semptomlu Bebeklerde Ebeveyn Algısı ve Deneyimi Kısa Başlık: Probiyotik Takviyesinin Kolik Semptomlara Etkisi

Abstract

Amaç: 

Bifidobacterium breve BR03 ile Bifidobacterium breve B632 mikrobiyal suşlarını içeren probiyotik damla kullanımının 0–12 ay arası bebeklerde gerçek yaşam koşullarında (özellikle kolik, sezaryen doğum, prematürite, hastane yatışı ve antibiyotik maruziyeti gibi alt gruplarda) semptomlar ve yaşam kalitesi göstergeleri üzerindeki etkisini değerlendirmeyi amaçladık. 

Gereç ve Yöntem: 

Bu çalışma, Prof. Dr. Cemil Taşcıoğlu Şehir Hastanesi, Yalova Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Esenyurt Devlet Hastanesi ve Sancaktepe Prof. Dr. İlhan Varank Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi’nin çocuk kliniklerinde yürütülen, dört merkezli ve multisentrik bir araştırmadır. Toplam 0-12 ay aralığındaki 150 bebeğin probiyotik kullanım öncesi ve sonrası semptomları ebeveyn anketiyle karşılaştırıldı. Sürekli/ordinal değişkenlerde Wilcoxon işaretli sıralar, ikili değişkenlerde McNemar testi kullanıldı (anlamlılık p<0,05). 

Bulgular: 

Bebeklerin medyan yaşı 4,5 ay (25.–75. persentil: 2–8) olup, olguların %56’sı erkekti. Probiyotik başlama nedenleri huzursuzluk (%42,7), kolik (%26,7), gaz (%22,7) ve tavsiye (%8,0) idi. Kullanım süresi medyan 90 gün, günlük doz medyan 5 damla olarak kaydedildi. Probiyotik kullanımı sonrasında ağlama göstergelerinde belirgin düzelme saptandı; ağlama süresi medyan 1 saat/gün (25.–75. persentil: 1–3) iken 0 saat/gün’e (25.–75. persentil: 0–1) geriledi, ağlama sıklığı medyan 2’den (25.–75. persentil: 2–3) 1’e (25.–75. persentil: 1–1) düştü ve günlük ağlama sayısı medyan 10’dan (25.–75. persentil: 8–10) 2’ye (25.–75. persentil: 2–4) azaldı. Buna paralel olarak gaz, karın şişliği ve huzursuzluk şiddet skorlarında anlamlı azalma; anne ve baba uyku sürelerinde artış ve anne depresif ruh hali skorunda azalma izlendi (tüm karşılaştırmalar için p<0,001). İkili semptom değerlendirmesinde gaz varlığı %63,3’ten %7,3’e, huzursuzluk varlığı %47,3’ten %11,3’e ve karın şişliği varlığı %63,3’ten %22,7’ye gerilerken; gece uykusunun ‘var’ olarak bildirilme oranı %32,0’den %68,0’e yükseldi (tümü p<0,001). 

Sonuç: 

Bifidobacterium breve BR03 ile Bifidobacterium breve B632 mikrobiyal suşlarını içeren probiyotik damla kullanımı, 0-12 ay arası bebeklerde gastrointestinal şikayetler ile ilişkili ebeveyn uyku/mood parametrelerinde klinik olarak anlamlı düzelme ve iyi tolerabilite ile ilişkili bulunmuştur.

Keywords

• probiyotik
• Bifidobacterium breve
• infantil kolik
• gaz
• uyku

Supporting Institution

Bu çalışma için herhangi bir finansal destek alınmamıştır.

Ethical Statement

Bu çalışma, İstanbul Prof. Dr. Cemil Taşcıoğlu Şehir Hastanesi Girişimsel Olmayan Klinik Araştırmalar Etik Kurulu tarafından 11.08.2025 tarihinde yapılan toplantıda değerlendirilmiş ve 255 sayılı karar ile etik açıdan uygun bulunmuştur.

Thanks

Yazarlar, katkılarından dolayı tüm katılımcılara teşekkür eder.

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