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Updated: Jul 12, 2026
Electrophysiological Measurements and Analysis of Nociception in Human Infants
Published on: December 20, 2011
Focus on infantile colic
1Department of Pediatrics, Regina Margherita Children's Hospital, University of Turin, Piazza Polonia 94, 10126 Turin, Italy. francesco.savino@unito.it
Insights
Infantile colic, a common infant issue, has multiple potential causes including gut function and maternal factors. A graded management strategy is recommended, but more research is needed.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Neonatology
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Infantile colic affects the first three months of life, presenting a common yet poorly understood clinical challenge.
- Etiologies are multifactorial, encompassing gastrointestinal, behavioral, and potentially novel factors like gut microbiota alterations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current understanding of infantile colic's diverse causes.
- To discuss potential management strategies for infantile colic.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing evidence on infantile colic.
- Analysis of proposed etiological factors and treatment approaches.
Main Results:
- Multiple independent causes are suggested, including food hypersensitivity, gut dysmotility, maternal anxiety, and infant temperament.
- Emerging hypotheses involve hormonal changes, maternal smoking, and gut microflora alterations.
Conclusions:
- Infantile colic typically follows a favorable clinical course with varied presentations.
- A safe, graded management approach tailored to colic intensity is advised, alongside a need for further research and guidelines.
Unlabelled:
Infantile colic is a widespread clinical condition in the first 3 months of life, which is easily recognized, but incompletely understood and difficult to solve. The available evidence suggests that infantile colic might have several independent causes. The medical hypotheses include food hypersensitivity or allergy, immaturity of gut function and dysmotility, and the behavioural hypotheses include inadequate maternal-infant interaction, anxiety in the mother and difficult infant temperament. Other recent hypotheses, such as hormone alterations and maternal smoking, still need confirmation, whereas the new concept of alterations in the gut microflora, have been reported. A number of interventions, including pharmacological agents, are discussed, but it is probable that infants with colic require a graded strategy.
Conclusion:
Considering the favourable clinical course and the wide range of manifestations, a safe approach should be adopted, which is proportional to the intensity of the infantile colic. However, further research and guidelines are still needed.
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