Evaluating the effect of nutritional support in moderate-to-late preterm infants
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Reviewed by Dat Tien Nguyen, B.A, ScM.
Translated by Nhi Phuong Quynh Le, B.A |
Posted on May 20th, 2024
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The risk of developmental delay, cardiometabolic disease and death is significantly higher in moderate-to-late preterm children. However, there is currently a research gap in the nutritional needs of this population. Therefore, the Health Research Council of New Zealand had funded a study to examine the effectiveness of various nutritional support interventions on the body fat composition and the time to full enteral feeding of the preterm neonates.
The study included 532 infants who were being treated in the neonatal intensive care unit and who were born between 32 weeks 0 days’ and 35 weeks 6 days’ gestation. 62.4% of the children were born by cesarean section, and almost one-fifth (19%) of them were born by mothers who were affected with gestational diabetes. From this cohort, the researchers aim to answer three questions. First, what is the effectiveness of intravenous supplementation with amino acid versus dextrose on improving the children’s body fat composition? Second, does the consumption of supplemental milk in children of mothers with insufficient breast milk guarantee physical development similar to children that were exclusively fed with breast milk? Last, whether exposing the children to the taste and smell of milk before gastric-tube feeding can shorten the time to full enteral feeding? After 4 months of observation, the researchers concluded that there was no significant difference in body fat composition between children who were supplemented intravenously with amino acid and dextrose and between those who were exclusively fed with breast milk and those who were supplemented with artificial milk. The researchers hypothesized that the lack of observable benefits can be explained by the short duration of the intervention. In addition, there was no difference in the time to full enteral feeding between the children who were exposed to and not-exposed to the smell and taste of milk before gastric-tube feeding. This finding goes against the current literature, and the researcher believes that this discrepancy can be explained by the stimulus-rich environment of the neonatal intensive care unit which dilutes the odor of milk in the exposed group.
The study included 532 infants who were being treated in the neonatal intensive care unit and who were born between 32 weeks 0 days’ and 35 weeks 6 days’ gestation. 62.4% of the children were born by cesarean section, and almost one-fifth (19%) of them were born by mothers who were affected with gestational diabetes. From this cohort, the researchers aim to answer three questions. First, what is the effectiveness of intravenous supplementation with amino acid versus dextrose on improving the children’s body fat composition? Second, does the consumption of supplemental milk in children of mothers with insufficient breast milk guarantee physical development similar to children that were exclusively fed with breast milk? Last, whether exposing the children to the taste and smell of milk before gastric-tube feeding can shorten the time to full enteral feeding? After 4 months of observation, the researchers concluded that there was no significant difference in body fat composition between children who were supplemented intravenously with amino acid and dextrose and between those who were exclusively fed with breast milk and those who were supplemented with artificial milk. The researchers hypothesized that the lack of observable benefits can be explained by the short duration of the intervention. In addition, there was no difference in the time to full enteral feeding between the children who were exposed to and not-exposed to the smell and taste of milk before gastric-tube feeding. This finding goes against the current literature, and the researcher believes that this discrepancy can be explained by the stimulus-rich environment of the neonatal intensive care unit which dilutes the odor of milk in the exposed group.