Takeaway
- Infants with gastroesophageal reflux (GER) symptoms can benefit from magnesium-alginate treatment if they do not respond to behavioral and dietary changes.
Why this matters
- Infant regurgitation is the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder in children aged <12 months and frequently causes parental concern.
Study design
- Researchers in this multicenter prospective crossover trial studied formula-fed infants with persistent regurgitation, randomly assigning them to receive either 2 weeks of a magnesium-alginate-based supplement followed by 2 weeks of thickened formula (n=27; mean age, 51.8±41.1 days) or thickened formula followed by magnesium alginate (n=26; mean age, 84.4±57.2 days).
- They also followed a third group of exclusively breast-fed infants receiving magnesium alginate for up to 2 weeks (n=19; mean age, 60.6±29.6 days).
- They evaluated symptoms using the Infant Gastroesophageal Reflux Questionnaire Revised (I-GERQ-R) and calculated direct treatment costs.
- Funding: Study products were supplied by Aurora Biofarma.
Key results
- I-GERQ-R scores lowered significantly in both formula-fed groups (F=55.387; P<.001) regardless of administration sequence (interaction effect: F=0.268; P=.848).
- Magnesium alginate was as effective in breast-fed infants (t=1.55; P=.126).
- Mean cost savings were significant with magnesium alginate at €4.60±11.2 per formula-fed infant (t=2.91; P<.0005).
Limitations
- The sample was small, and follow-up was short.
References
References
