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Changes in macronutrients of human milk after bolus feeding: a simulation study

Journal of Perinatology volume 41, pages 1069–1073 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Background

Enteral nutrition supply to preterm infants requires feeding through a feeding tube. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in macronutrient composition of human milk (HM) while passing through a gastric feeding tube.

Methods

Simulated real-life practice tube feeding was performed by using an infusion pump connected to a feeding tube. A human milk analyzer was used to compare the pre infusion and post infusion macronutrient contents of HM.

Result

There was a significant decrease in fat (from 4.06 ± 0.6 g/100 ml to 3.95 ± 0.6 g/100 ml), carbohydrates (from 7.51 ± 0.4 g/100 ml to 7.33 ± 0.5 g/100 ml), and energy content (from 70.77 ± 5.4 kcal/100 ml to 69.72 ± 0.5 kcal/100 ml) after passing through the feeding tube (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

A simulated real-life bolus tube feeding model demonstrated small but significant decreases in fat, carbohydrate, and energy content. The biological significance of our results to the very low birth weight infants should be further studied.

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Fig. 1: Macronutrients content before and after passage through a nasogastric feeding tube.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Inbal Zommerfroind, Hadar Moran-Lev

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Dana Dwek Children’s Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, affiliated to the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Inbal Zommerfroind, Hadar Moran-Lev & Ronit Lubetzky

  2. Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Dana Dwek Children’s Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, affiliated to the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Hadar Moran-Lev

  3. Department of Neonatology, Dana Dwek Children’s Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, affiliated to the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Dror Mandel & Laurence Mangel

  4. Department of Neonatology, Shaare Zedek Medical Center affiliated to Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

    Francis B. Mimouni

Authors
  1. Inbal Zommerfroind
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  2. Hadar Moran-Lev
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  3. Dror Mandel
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  4. Francis B. Mimouni
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  5. Laurence Mangel
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  6. Ronit Lubetzky
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Contributions

DM, FBM, and RL conceptualized and designed the study and reviewed and revised the manuscript. HM-L and IZ designed the data collection instruments, collected data, carried out the initial analyses, drafted the initial manuscript, and reviewed and revised the manuscript. LM conceptualized and designed the study, coordinated and supervised data collection, and critically reviewed the manuscript for important intellectual content. All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hadar Moran-Lev.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics

This study was conducted according to the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki and all procedures involving research study participants were approved by the Helsinki ethics committee. The study protocol was approved by the institutional review board of the medical center (0062-11). A signed written informed consent was obtained from all the participating mothers.

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Zommerfroind, I., Moran-Lev, H., Mandel, D. et al. Changes in macronutrients of human milk after bolus feeding: a simulation study. J Perinatol 41, 1069–1073 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-00899-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-00899-2

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