Probiotics for the management of infantile colic. Probiotics can safely be used for the management of infantile colic in breastfed infants, according to a systematic review in the March/April American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing. The review of 20 articles found high-quality evidence that oral probiotics relieve symptoms of colic in breastfed infants, with a 50% reduction in crying time compared with placebo. Although studies of the use of probiotics in formula-fed infants found that probiotics also significantly reduced colic, there were too few studies for the authors to draw conclusions. There was no evidence to recommend the use of probiotics for the prevention of colic. None of the studies reported adverse effects. The authors wrote that once other possible causes of infant crying have been ruled out, parents can safely choose to treat infant colic with probiotics.