The WHO PROPS Trial (PRObiotics in Preterm and Small for gestational age infants)

Overview

The World Health Organization (WHO) PROPS (PRObiotics in Preterm and Small for gestational age infants) Trial is a  multi-country, multi-centre, two-arm, parallel group, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of probiotics for preterm and small for gestational infants in low-resource countries to improve newborn outcomes.

The aim of the trial is to assess the effect of probiotic supplementation with the strains Bifidobacterium longum subsp. Infantis DSM33361 (B. Infantis) and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG DSM33156 (L. rhamnosus GG) on mortality, morbidity, and growth in preterm and term SGA infants in the first six months of life in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The summary can be downloaded from this site.

Contact. Dr. Karen Edmond, Scientist, Newborn and Child Health and Development Unit, World Health Organization, is leading all pretrial and trial activities. Contact details: Karen Edmond, edmondk@who.int, phone +41 22 791 21 11