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Published on: March 23, 2018
Molecular identification of coliform bacteria from colicky breastfed infants
F Savino1, L Cordisco, V Tarasco
1Department of Pediatrics, Regina Margherita Children Hospital, University of Turin, Torino, Italy. francesco.savino@unito.it
Insights
Coliform bacteria, especially Escherichia coli, are more abundant in the intestines of colicky infants compared to healthy infants. This finding may help explain the causes of infantile colic.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Pediatrics
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Infantile colic is a common condition affecting newborns.
- The role of intestinal microbiota in infantile colic is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence and abundance of intestinal coliform bacteria in infants with colic compared to healthy infants.
Main Methods:
- Faecal samples were collected from 41 colicky and 39 healthy breastfed infants.
- Quantitative bacterial cultures and molecular identification methods (PCR, Automated Ribotyping, API-50E kit) were used to identify and quantify coliform strains.
Main Results:
- Coliform bacteria were significantly more abundant in colicky infants (median 6.04 log(10) CFU/g) than in healthy infants (median 4.47 log(10) CFU/g).
- Escherichia coli was the predominant species and showed significantly higher counts in colicky infants.
- Other identified species included Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, Enterobacter cloacae, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Enterococcus faecalis.
Conclusions:
- This study provides molecular evidence of altered coliform colonization patterns in infantile colic.
- Increased abundance of coliforms, particularly E. coli, may contribute to the pathophysiology of colic.
- Further research into the gut microbiome's role in infantile colic is warranted.
Objective:
To determine the presence of intestinal coliform bacteria in colicky vs healthy infants.
Study Design:
We isolated coliform strains from faeces and performed quantitative bacterial cultures in 41 colicky and 39 healthy breastfed infants, identified using PCR with species-specific primers, strain-specific Automated Ribotyping and the API-50E kit for Enterobacteriaceae to identify the most frequent strains.
Results:
Coliform strains were more abundant in colicky infants (median 6.04 log(10) CFU/g faeces, range 2.00-8.76) vs controls (median 4.47 log(10) CFU/g faeces, range 1.00-8.08) (p = 0.026). Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, K. oxytoca, Enterobacter cloacae, E. aerogenes and Enterococcus faecalis were the predominant species in colicky and healthy infants. The counts of each bacterial species differed between the two groups, and the difference was significant (p = 0.002) for E. coli: median 6.30 log(10) CFU/g faeces (range 3.00-8.74) in colicky infants, and median 4.70 log(10) CFU/g faeces (range 2.00-5.85) in controls.
Conclusions:
This is the first study to evaluate the colonization patterns of gas-forming coliforms in colicky infants and healthy controls identified by molecular methods. Coliform bacteria, particularly Escherichia coli, were found to be more abundant in colicky infants. Our data could help to shed light on the cause of infantile colic.
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