Effects of One-Week Empirical Antibiotic Therapy on the Early Development of Gut Microbiota and Metabolites in Preterm Infants.

ABSTRACT: The early postnatal period is the most dynamic and vulnerable stage in the assembly of intestinal microbiota. Antibiotics are commonly prescribed to newborn preterm babies and are frequently used for a prolonged duration in China. We hypothesized that the prolonged antibiotic therapy would affect the early development of intestinal microbiota and their metabolites. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the stool microbiota and metabolites in 36 preterm babies with or without antibiotic treatment. These babies were divided into three groups, including two groups treated with the combination of penicillin and moxalactam or piperacillin-tazobactam for 7 days, and the other group was free of antibiotics. Compared to the antibiotic-free group, both antibiotic-treated groups had distinct gut micr

SUBMITTER: Zhu D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5556106 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature