The effectiveness of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG in the treatment of infantile colic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Infantile colic is common in pediatric patients, yet few probiotics effectively treat this condition. The efficacy of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) in managing colic remains unclear. In this meta-analysis, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of LGG in treating infantile colic.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science databases from their inception until January 2024. We used Version 2 of the Cochrane tool (ROB 2) to assess the risk of bias in randomized trials. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software. The inclusion criteria followed the PICOS framework: (I) participants: infants with colic; (II) intervention: LGG administration at any dose; (III) control: placebo or no treatment; (IV) outcomes: primary outcome was crying or fussing time (minutes/day) at the end of the intervention, secondary outcomes included fecal calprotectin content (µg/g) and adverse events; (V) Study type: randomized controlled trials.

Results: Four studies involving 168 infants with colic were included. The meta-analysis indicated that LGG significantly reduced daily crying time [mean difference (MD) =-32.59 minutes; 95% confidence interval (CI): -43.23 to -21.96; P<0.001] and fecal calprotectin content (MD =-103.28 µg/g; 95% CI: -149.30 to -7.26; P<0.001). Only one study reported adverse events.

Conclusions: LGG is effective in treating infantile colic. Further studies are needed to examine the effects of different doses, administration schedules, and durations of LGG treatment in infants with varying feeding methods.