Preterm babies with very low birth weight who received a probiotic alongside antibiotics had fewer multidrug resistant bacteria and a more typical gut microbiome, a study shows.
The paper published in Nature Communications is the result of a trial testing probiotics among a group of 34 pre-term babies born with a very low birth weight, under 1500g representing around 1-1.5% of babies born around the world. The study sequenced gut bacteria from the babies during the first three weeks after birth.
The collaborative study led by Professor Lindsay Hall and Dr Raymond Kiu from the University of Birmingham found that among babies who received a probiotic treatment of a certain strain including Bifidobacterium alongside antibiotics, levels of typical bacterial strains associated with early-life gut microbiota were at levels typical among full-term babies, reducing both the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes and the number of multi-drug resistant bacteria in the gut.