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Erythromycin fails to improve feeding outcome in feeding-intolerant preterm infants

Adel A ElHennawy1, John W Sparks, Debra Armentrout

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.

Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
|September 10, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Erythromycin did not improve feeding tolerance in preterm infants with feeding intolerance. The drug did not enhance gastrointestinal function or speed up achieving full enteral feedings in this vulnerable population.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatalogy
  • Gastroenterology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Feeding intolerance affects nearly half of extremely low birth weight infants, delaying nutritional support.
  • Erythromycin, a motilin receptor agonist, enhances gastric emptying in adults, but its efficacy in preterm infants is understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy of erythromycin in improving feeding tolerance in preterm infants.
  • To assess erythromycin's impact on gastric emptying, gastrointestinal motor patterns, and time to achieve full enteral feedings.

Main Methods:

  • A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial involving 27 preterm infants with feeding intolerance.
  • Administration of intragastric erythromycin or placebo for 8 days, with assessments of motor activity, gastric emptying, and transit times.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences were observed in gastric emptying or antroduodenal motor contractions between the erythromycin and placebo groups.
  • Transit times from duodenum to anus and overall feeding outcomes were comparable between the two treatment groups.

Conclusions:

  • Intragastric erythromycin does not enhance feeding tolerance in preterm infants with established feeding intolerance.
  • The drug demonstrated no short-term or long-term benefits in improving gastrointestinal function for this patient population.
Abstract

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