Probiotics and human lactational mastitis: a scoping review protocol

Objective: The objective of this scoping review is to identify and examine the evidence on probiotic consumption and its effect on human lactational mastitis. Introduction: Lactational mastitis is a painful, inflammatory condition of the breast tissue commonly occurring among breastfeeding women. It can lead to decreased breastfeeding rates, which then may lead to poorer maternal and newborn outcomes. There is growing interest and research on the use of probiotics to prevent or treat this condition following promising, but equivocal, evidence from studies of probiotics in relation to animals and other human conditions. Inclusion criteria: Eligible studies will include women of any age who are planning a pregnancy, pregnant, breastfeeding, or expressing post-childbirth. There will be no exclusion based on comorbidity, previous history, or current diagnosis or treatment of lactational mastitis. All probiotic species and strains and all dosages, preparations, and timing/scheduling of probiotic administration will be eligible for inclusion. All concepts regarding the use of probiotics and their effect on lactational mastitis will be included, and all types of research will be considered. Methods: This scoping review will follow JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Sources of evidence published in English from 2000 to present will be included. The search will include the Cochrane Library, Scopus, Embase, and Emcare, in addition to gray literature. A critical appraisal will be performed, and the results will be presented in the final review. A tabular and accompanying narrative summary of the information will be provided.