Pilot Analysis of Early Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG for Infant Colic Prevention

We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a trial of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) supplementation as a pilot study to assess whether LGG prevents infant colic. For the first 6 months of life, infants received a daily dose of 10 billion colony-forming units of LGG or a control (n = 184). We compared the likelihood of a diagnosis of colic before 4 months of age, based on parent-reported symptoms or a physician diagnosis of colic. Out of the 184 infants, 18 (9.8%) had colic. There were no differences between the 2 groups in the percentage of infants with colic based on symptoms (control 5.4% vs LGG 9.8%; P = 0.19); physician diagnosis (control 3.2% vs LGG 7.6%; P = 0.26); or either symptoms or diagnosis combined (control 6.5% vs LGG 13.0%; P = 0.13). In this pilot study, early infant LGG supplementation does not appear to prevent the later development of colic.