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Published on: September 22, 2023
Gastric emptying in premature newborns with acute respiratory distress
Maria Aparecida Marques dos Santos Mezzacappa1, Edgard Ferro Collares
1Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. mezacapa@uol.com.br
Objectives:
The authors hypothesized that acute respiratory distress (ARD) delays gastric emptying. The objective was to test this hypothesis by assessing gastric emptying on the second and seventh days of life in premature infants with ARD resulting from pulmonary disease.
Methods:
Thirty-nine newborns with ARD starting on the first day of life were selected and paired with 39 healthy control newborns matched by weight (within 250 g). Gestational age was
Results:
Gastric retention at 30 minutes varied considerably in both groups and was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in newborns with ARD (61.4%) than controls (51.8%) at 48.0 +/- 24.0 hours, decreasing significantly after partial or full remission of ARD at 168 +/- 24 hours of life. Gastric retention was 60.2% in newborns with feeding intolerance and 36.8% in tolerant newborns (P < 0.001) at 168 hours. ARD and periventricular or intraventricular hemorrhage were predictors of gastric retention at 48 +/- 24 hours of life, whereas feeding intolerance and gestational age were predictors of gastric retention at 168 +/- 24 hours. Gastric retention was inversely correlated with gestational age.
Conclusion:
Gastric emptying is delayed in premature infants with ARD during the first 72 hours of life and may impair the initiation of enteral feeding.
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