Nutritional Intervention in Infantile Colic: Mini Review

Infantile colic is a symptomatic disorder characterized by paroxysms of fussing, agitation or crying, lasting more than three hours a day and occurring more than three days a week for at least three weeks [1]. In addition to this definition, diagnostic criteria of Rome III for functional gastrointestinal disorder defines infantile colic as a condition that includes all of the following symptoms in infants aged less than 4 months, such as (1) paroxysms of irritability, fussing or crying that start and stop without obvious cause, (2) episodes lasting for three or more hours per day and occurring at least three days per week for at least one week, and (3) there is no failure to thrive [2]. The main symptoms are excessive and persistent crying which tend to occur at night. During each episodes, the child appears distress, irritable, fussy, becomes red faces, contracted legs, and frequent borborygmi [3]. This condition occurs in 10-40% of infants worldwide and peaks at around 6 weeks, then disappears by 3-6 months. The incidence of infantile colic is similar in both male and female infants. There are also no relationships between infantile colic and feeding types (breast-fed or formula), gestational age, or socioeconomic status. The definite cause of infantile colic is unknown. Several causes of infantile colic have been proposed such as microfloral changes in faecal content, cow’s milk or lactose intolerance, gastrointestinal immaturity or inflammation, increased serotonin secretion, inappropriate breast-feeding techniques, and maternal smoking or nicotine replacement therapy [4].