الفهرس 
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Abstract
N
ecrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in pre-term, very low birth weight (VLBW) newborn. It is the most common gastrointestinal emergency in newborns.
Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms which, when administrated in adequate amounts, can confer a health benefit on the host.
Probiotics as an immunotherapy is considered a potential adjuvant therapeutic modality in the treatment of neonatal sepsis.
The aim of the present study is to assess the effect of probiotics in the form of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, fed to VLBW preterm infants on incidence and severity of NEC.
This study was carried out on 45 preterm neonates <34 weeks of gestation, they were divided into 3 groups as follows:
Group 1: 15 preterm newborn infants who received breast milk only.
Group 2: 15 preterm newborn infants who received formula milk only without probiotics.
Group 3: 15 preterm newborn infants who received standard formula supplemented by Lactobacillus acidophillus + Bifidobacterium bifidum (from Christian Hansen culture collection) with an added dose of 6x109 colony forming units per gram (CFU/g-1) once daily for 2 weeks, starting with the first feed.
Neonates with severe fatal congenital anomalies, Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy And evidence of sepsis confirmed during the first week of life were excluded.
Our results showed that, breast fed group was the earlier to start feeding, and the fastest to reach full oral intake, followed by the probiotics group and lastly the control group and this shows a significant difference.
As regards NEC, the incidence was significantly lower in the probiotics group and in the breast milk group when compared to the control group.
Regarding neonatal sepsis, our study showed that there was significant reduction in incidence of neonatal sepsis in probiotics group compared to breast milk group and control group.
Our study showed that non significant difference was detected in the incidence of blood culture proven sepsis in the probiotics group compared to the control group and the breast milk group.
from the results of our study we conclude that:
Enteral administration of prophylactic probiotics in neonatal intensive care units could significantly reduce morbidity due to necrotizing enterocolitis in very low birth weight newborn. It also helps in establishing early full enteral feeding and reduces hospital stay.