The use of probiotics to reduce the incidence of sepsis in premature infants.

目前，早产儿出生时没有正确时间出生的婴儿的正常免疫防御，因为通常在怀孕最后几个月从母亲传递给婴儿的保护因素没有时间这样做。此外，早产儿也有危险，因为他们需要重症监护的专业知识，因此与父母和父母的生物体分开，健康的足月婴儿通常从产道和父母的皮肤中获得。婴儿通常会受到生活在他们皮肤表面或肺、胃或肠道内的生物体的感染。婴儿生活在他们需要生存的医院环境中，但他们可能会感染产生毒素的特别不健康的生物体（病原体），即使使用抗生素也难以治疗。这些感染是如此严重，以至于五分之一的婴儿死亡，即使在澳大利亚，早产儿的设施非常好。海外最近有两项研究显示，给予早产婴儿特别的益生菌制剂，可减低婴儿受感染的机会。益生菌是具有健康益处的生物体。益生菌收紧细胞之间的空间，阻止细菌进入体内，产生杀死其他细菌的物质，并促进婴儿自身细胞产生免疫球蛋白A。免疫球蛋白A是一种物质，内衬肠壁，保护婴儿免受细菌入侵。这项研究将提供这种益生菌产品非常早产儿在一项试验中，看看它是否产生额外的好处，我们的婴儿在维多利亚。大约500名婴儿将服用该产品，500名婴儿将服用安慰剂（一种无害的惰性产品，看起来就像真实的益生菌）。目前，我们的婴儿中有23%受到严重感染，这项研究足以证明我们是否可以将这一数字减少三分之一。

Currently, premature infants are born without the normal immune defenses of infants born at the correct time because the protective factors that normally pass from the mother to the baby during the last few months of pregnancy have not had time to do so. In addition the tiny premature infants are at risk because they need the expertise of intensive care and are therefore separated from their parents and their parents' organisms which healthy term infants normally pick up from the birth canal and their parents skin. The infants commonly develop infections from organisms living on their skin surfaces or inside their lungs, stomach or bowels. The babies are living in a hospital environment which they need to survive, but they may pick up particularly unhealthy organisms (pathogens) that produce toxins, which are difficult to treat even with antibiotics. These infections are so severe that one-fifth of the babies die, even in Australia where facilities for premature infants are excellent. Two recent studies overseas have shown that giving premature babies special preparations of certain probiotic organisms decreases the chance of babie developing infections. Probiotics are organisms that have health benefits. Probiotics tighten the spaces between cells to stop bacteria getting into the body, produce substances that kill other bacteria and promote the production of immunoglobulin A by the baby's own cells. Immunoglobulin A is a substance that lines the bowel wall and protects the baby from invasion by bacteria. This study will offer this probiotic product to very premature babies in a trial to see if it produces additional benefits for our babies in Victoria. Around five hundred babies will be given the product and five hundred will be given the placebo ( a harmless inert product which will look just like the real probiotic). Currently 23% of our babies get the serious infections and this study is powerful enough to see if we can reduce the number by one third.