Bovine lactoferrin supplementation for prevention of late-onset sepsis in very low-birth-weight neonates: A randomized trial

TLDR: Compared with placebo, BLF supplementation alone or in combination with LGG reduced the incidence of a first episode of late-onset sepsis in VLBW neonates.

Abstract: Context Sepsis is a common and severe complication in premature neonates, particularly those with very low birth weight (VLBW) ( Objective To establish whether bovine lactoferrin (BLF), alone or in combination with LGG, reduces the incidence of late-onset sepsis in VLBW neonates. Design, Setting, and Patients Prospective, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial conducted in 11 Italian tertiary neonatal intensive care units. Patients were 472 VLBW infants enrolled from October 1, 2007, through July 31, 2008, and assessed until discharge for development of sepsis. Intervention Infants were randomly assigned to receive orally administered BLF (100 mg/d) alone (n = 153), BLF plus LGG (6 × 10 9 colony-forming units/d) (n = 151), or placebo (n = 168) from birth until day 30 of life (day 45 for neonates Main Outcome Measure First episode of late-onset sepsis, ie, sepsis occurring more than 72 hours after birth with isolation of any pathogen from blood or from peritoneal or cerebrospinal fluid. Results Demographic, clinical, and management characteristics of the 3 groups were similar, including type of feeding and intake of maternal milk. Incidence of late-onset sepsis was significantly lower in the BLF and BLF plus LGG groups (9/153 [5.9%] and 7/151 [4.6%], respectively) than in the control group receiving placebo (29/168 [17.3%]) (risk ratio, 0.34; 95% confidence interval, 0.17-0.70; P = .002 for BLF vs control and risk ratio, 0.27; 95% confidence interval, 0.12-0.60; P  Conclusion Compared with placebo, BLF supplementation alone or in combination with LGG reduced the incidence of a first episode of late-onset sepsis in VLBW neonates. Trial Registration isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN53107700