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Every three-hour versus every six-hour oral feeding in preterm infants: a randomised clinical trial

Megan M Gray1, Barbara Medoff-Cooper2, Elizabeth M Enlow3

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|November 19, 2016
PubMed

Insights

For preterm infants, feeding every six hours versus every three hours did not change the time to full oral feeding. This feeding schedule also showed no significant impact on respiratory issues or hospital stay duration.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal Medicine
  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Clinical Trials

Background:

  • Preterm infants often require specialized feeding strategies to achieve full oral feeding.
  • Optimizing feeding schedules is crucial for improving infant outcomes and reducing healthcare resource utilization.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the efficacy of two oral feeding schedules (every three hours vs. every six hours) in preterm infants.
  • To determine if a less frequent feeding schedule accelerates the attainment of full oral feeding.

Main Methods:

  • A randomized trial involving preterm infants (≤33-week gestation) assigned to either 3-hour or 6-hour oral feeding intervals.
  • Primary outcome: time to achieve full oral feeding. Secondary outcomes: respiratory and apnea rates, growth, and length of hospital stay.

Main Results:

  • No significant difference was observed between the 3-hour and 6-hour feeding groups for the primary outcome (time to full oral feeding).
  • Secondary outcomes, including respiratory and apnea rates and length of stay, were also comparable between the two groups.

Conclusions:

  • An every six-hour oral feeding schedule is not superior to an every three-hour schedule for achieving full oral feeding in preterm infants.
  • The less frequent feeding schedule did not negatively impact respiratory status or hospital length of stay, with only minor reductions in daily feeding attempts.
Abstract

Keywords:
Advancement of oral feedingFeeding frequencyNeonatal intensive careOral feedingPreterm infants

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