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

目前，早产婴儿在出生时没有正常的免疫防御，因为在怀孕的最后几个月里，通常从母亲传递给婴儿的保护因素没有时间这样做。此外，幼小的早产儿面临风险，因为他们需要重症监护的专业知识，因此与父母和父母的有机体分离，而健康的足月婴儿通常从产道和父母的皮肤中获得这些有机体。婴儿通常会因皮肤表面或肺、胃或肠道内的微生物而感染。这些婴儿生活在他们生存所需的医院环境中，但他们可能染上特别不健康的生物体（病原体），产生毒素，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，早产儿的设施也很好。最近海外的两项研究表明，给早产儿服用某些益生菌的特殊制剂可以降低婴儿感染的几率。益生菌是一种有益健康的生物。益生菌会收紧细胞间的间隙，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是一种排列在肠壁上的物质，可以保护婴儿免受细菌的侵袭。这项研究将提供这种益生菌产品给非常早产的婴儿进行试验，看看它是否能为我们在维多利亚的婴儿带来额外的好处。大约500名婴儿将服用该产品，另外500名婴儿将服用安慰剂（一种无害的惰性产品，看起来就像真正的益生菌）。目前，23%的婴儿受到严重感染，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.