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Effects of standardized feeding protocol on growth velocity and necrotizing enterocolitis in extremely low birth weight infants

Journal of Perinatology volume 41, pages 134–139 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Objective

To assess the effect of a standardized feeding protocol (SFP) on growth velocity (GV) and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in extremely low birth weight infants.

Methods

This single-study center retrospectively compared growth, nutritional, and gastrointestinal outcomes in two infant cohorts before (cohort 1; n = 145) and after (cohort 2; n = 69) SFP implementation.

Results

Although weekly GV in the first 4 weeks of life did not differ between the two cohorts, median GV at 36 weeks’ post-menstrual age (PMA) was higher in cohort 2 compared with cohort 1 (26.8 g/day [24.7, 28.9] vs 24.9 g/day [22.9, 28.3], p = 0.02). The odds of NEC were lower in cohort 2 by 63% after adjusting for birth weight, small-for-gestational-age, and gender (OR = 0.38, 95% CI 0.142–0.993, p = 0.047).

Conclusion

Our SFP was associated with improved GV at 36 weeks’ PMA and a lower adjusted rate of NEC.

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Fig. 1: Comparison of median weight gain velocity in both groups.

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Data availability

After de-identification individual participant data that underlie the results reported in this article will be available to researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL, USA

    Sanket D. Shah, Padma Nandula, Josef Cortez, Renu Sharma & Mark L. Hudak

  2. Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Natalie Booth

  3. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Kartikeya Makker

  4. Center for Data Solutions, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL, USA

    Carmen Smotherman

Authors
  1. Sanket D. Shah
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  2. Natalie Booth
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  3. Padma Nandula
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  4. Kartikeya Makker
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  5. Josef Cortez
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  6. Renu Sharma
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  7. Carmen Smotherman
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  8. Mark L. Hudak
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Correspondence to Sanket D. Shah.

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Shah, S.D., Booth, N., Nandula, P. et al. Effects of standardized feeding protocol on growth velocity and necrotizing enterocolitis in extremely low birth weight infants. J Perinatol 41, 134–139 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-00892-9

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