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What is the best treatment for infants with colic?

Journal: The Journal of Family Practice Date: 2006/07, 55(7):Pages: 634-636, type of study: article

Full text    (https://www.mdedge.com/familymedicine/article/62263/pediatrics/what-best-treatment-infants-colic)

Keywords:

article [2076]
diet [13]
infant [224]
infantile colic [43]
pediatrics [375]

Abstract:

Colic has been described using the “rule of 3“: crying for at least 3 hours per day on at least 3 days per week for at least 3 weeks. The distinction can be subtle; a normal infant can cry more than 2 hours per day. This syndrome has its onset typically in the first few weeks of life. It spontaneously resolves by age 4 to 6 months. Prevalence depends on the definition used for colic; approximately 5% to 25% of infants meet some reasonable definition of colic. The cause of infantile colic is poorly understood. Although clinicians tend to focus on a likely gastrointestinal cause, neuropsychological issues, food allergy, and parenting misadventures are also potential contributing factors. There are myriad strategies-ranging from craniosacral osteopathic manipulation to car ride simulation-offered for dealing with infantile colic. Although none of these treatments has been validated in rigorous studies, the available evidence offers tentative support for 3 strategies: (1) a trial of a hypoallergenic (protein hydrolysate) formula (for formula fed infants), (2) a low-allergen maternal diet (for breastfeeding mothers), and (3) reduced stimulation of the infant. A systematic review analyzed controlled clinical trials lasting at least 3 days involving infants less than 6 months of age who cried excessively. Twenty-seven studies were included; the outcome measure was colic symptoms, typically reported as duration of crying. Two reports studying hypoallergenic (protein hydrolysate) formula in nearly 130 infants found an effect size of 0.22 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.10-0.34) for the hypoallergenic formula. Additionally, 3 behavioral trials (involving nearly 200 infants) revealed the benefits of reduced stimulation of the colicky infant (effect size of 0.48; 95% CI, 0.23-0.74). A more recent systematic review followed a similar high-quality search strategy and identified 22 articles, and reported a number needed to treat (NNT) of 6 for the 2 hypoallergenic formula studies identified in the previous review. Because of concern regarding the quality of the behavioral studies involving infants with colic, the authors of this second review only included 1 small (42 patients) trial of decreased stimulation, which resulted in a relative risk (RR) of 1.87 (95% CI, 1.04-3.34) and a NNT of 2. There was some inconclusive evidence to suggest benefit to dietary adjustment for breastfeeding mothers (specifically, the avoidance of cow's milk and other potential allergens like nuts, eggs, and wheat). A recent randomized controlled trial confirmed the value of this approach by showing significant improvement in distress scores of infants whose mothers followed a low-allergen diet (excluding dairy, soy, wheat, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, and fish) for 7 days. This well-designed study included 107 patients (a relatively large sample in the published research about colic), and showed an absolute risk reduction of 37% (NNT=3) for those mothers following the challenge. A small RCT (43 patients) suggested efficacy in the substitution of a whey hydrolysate formula in place of cow's milk-based formula for infants with colic (casein hydrolysate formula has been more widely studied), but there continues to be controversy regarding the preferred protein hydrolysate formula (whey vs casein) in the treatment of colic. Several medications have been tested in RCTs; only dicyclomine has shown an effect in a few small RCTs. However, there have been reports of apnea and other serious, although infrequent, adverse effects. For that reason, the manufacturer has contraindicated the use of this medication in infants aged <6 months. A small (n=68) study of an herbal tea showed reduced symptoms (RR=0.57 favoring the active tea), although the mean volume of tea consumption (32 mL/kg/d) is a nutritional concern in this age group. No adverse events were noted, but the small sample size limits the ability to detect any but the most common events.


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