Skip to main content
PAS 2021 Virtual Event Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
On-Demand with Live Q&A
On-Demand with Live Q&A
Highlighted e-Poster with Live Q&A
Highlighted e-Poster with Live Q&A
Pre-Conference Ticketed Event
Pre-Conference Ticketed Event
Live Session
Live Session
AAP
AAP
APA George Armstrong
APA George Armstrong
APA Health Care Delivery Award
APA Health Care Delivery Award
APA Global Health Research Award
APA Global Health Research Award
On-Demand wtih Live Q&A
On-Demand wtih Live Q&A
Test
Test
Miller Sarkin Mentoring Award
Miller Sarkin Mentoring Award
David G. Nathan Award (Fellow Basic)
David G. Nathan Award (Fellow Basic)
Fellow Basic Research Awards
Fellow Basic Research Awards
Fellows Junior Section Basic Research Award
Fellows Junior Section Basic Research Award
Fellows Junior Section Clinical Research Award
Fellows Junior Section Clinical Research Award
Fellow Clinical Research Awards
Fellow Clinical Research Awards
House Officer Research Awards
House Officer Research Awards
Japan Pediatric Society Fellow Exchange Awards
Japan Pediatric Society Fellow Exchange Awards
Maureen Andrew Mentor Award
Maureen Andrew Mentor Award
New Member Outstanding Science Award
New Member Outstanding Science Award
SPR Bridging to Success Award
SPR Bridging to Success Award
SPR Diversity in the Research Workforce Travel Award - ESPR
SPR Diversity in the Research Workforce Travel Award - ESPR
Richard D. Rowe Award (Fellow Clinical)
Richard D. Rowe Award (Fellow Clinical)
SPR Award in honor of E. Mead Johnson
SPR Award in honor of E. Mead Johnson
Student Research Awards
Student Research Awards
Young Investigator Award
Young Investigator Award
Norman J. Siegel New Member Outstanding Science Award
Norman J. Siegel New Member Outstanding Science Award
John Howland Award
John Howland Award
Trainee Research Award-Clinical
Trainee Research Award-Clinical
Trainee Research Award-Basic
Trainee Research Award-Basic
Richard D. Rowe Award
Richard D. Rowe Award
Poster Icons
e-Poster with Chat Q&A
e-Poster with Chat Q&A
Highlighted e-Poster with Live Q&A
Highlighted e-Poster with Live Q&A
Discussion + Q&A ViewAttendees 143

Neonatology

Infectious Diseases

Hospital-based Medicine

Emergency Medicine

Critical Care
Session Type: Hot Topic Symposia

Probiotics in Pediatrics: Risks vs. Potential Benefits in 2021 – What You Need to Know

Monday, May 3, 2021
4:30 PM - 7:00 PM US CT
CE: 2

On-Demand with Live Q&A
Course Number: 3815-SS-QA
Format Type: On-Demand with Live Q&A
Target Audience: General pediatricians as well as specialists in pediatric infectious diseases, pediatric hospital medicine, neonatologists, and pediatric critical care

Session Description:

    Chair(s)

  • Gregory Priebe, MD

    Senior Associate in Critical Care
    Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine
    Boston Children's Hospital
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

  • Patricia Hibberd, MD, PhD

    Chair and Professor
    Global Health
    Boston University School of Public Health
    Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Learning Objectives:

  • Objectives 1. Explain the differences between probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics 2. List conditions for which probiotics are “recommended” by expert groups and why these recommendations might be problematic 3. Review literature around what is known and what is not known regarding the use of probiotics for prevention or treatment of COVID-19 4. Describe how probiotics are regulated in the US and why this matters to children (and everyone else) 5. Describe what is known about the impact of probiotics on the microbiome and understand the mechanisms and challenges of gut microbiome manipulation 6. Review the potential benefits of probiotic administration in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) including decreased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis, sepsis, and death 7. Review the risks of probiotic administration in the NICU and PICU, including contamination of commercial probiotics with pathogens, probiotic sepsis, and cross contamination between patients. 8. List risk factors for developing invasive infections from probiotics. 9. Understand the evolution of the evidence related to the use of probiotics to treat gastroenteritis in children and its implications to the larger field of probiotic research
Probiotics are increasingly used in pediatrics, spanning outpatient general pediatric practice, the emergency department, and hospitalized patients, including those in intensive care units​. Although some studies have shown efficacy in acute infectious diarrhea, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, viral respiratory tract infections, and inflammatory bowel disease, reported benefits are typically probiotic-formulation-specific, and recent clinical trials have raised questions about the potential benefits. Recent data also highlight the risks of bacteremia and sepsis related to probiotics as well as the impact of probiotics on the microbiome. This session will provide an overview of probiotic use and clinical trials in pediatrics, including what is known about probiotics in COVID-19.

Presentations:

  • 4:30 PM - 4:55 PM US CT
    Why are probiotics becoming more controversial? Implications for pediatrics

    Presenter: Patricia Hibberd, MD, PhD – Boston University School of Public Health

  • 4:55 PM - 5:15 PM US CT
    Risks and benefits of probiotics in the neonatal intensive care unit

    Presenter: Mark Underwood, MD – University of California Davis

  • 5:15 PM - 5:40 PM US CT
    Genomic evidence of probiotic bacteremia in pediatric ICU patients

    Presenter: Gregory Priebe, MD – Boston Children's Hospital

  • 5:40 PM - 6:00 PM US CT
    The unfulfilled promise of probiotics and the complexities of manipulating the gut microbiome

    Presenter: David Schnadower, MD MPH – Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center - University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

  • 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM US CT
    Break

    Presenter: Belinda Thomas

  • 6:30 PM - 7:00 PM US CT
    Click for Live Q&A: Probiotics in Pediatrics: Risks vs. Potential Benefits in 2021 – What You Need to Know

    Presenter: Belinda Thomas