[Enteral feeding in extremely low birth weight infants with a gestational age of <28 weeks versus ≥ 28 weeks]

To investigate the condition of enteral feeding and the incidence of feeding intolerance (FI) in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants with a gestational age (GA) of < 28 weeks versus ≥ 28 weeks.

A retrospective analysis was performed for the ELBW infants who were admitted to the Department of Neonatology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, from January 2018 to January 2020. According to GA, they were divided into two groups:GA < 28 weeks (n=41) and GA ≥ 28 weeks (n=38). The two groups were compared in terms of enteral feeding and incidence rate of FI during hospitalization.

Among the 41 infants in the GA < 28 weeks group, 2 (5%) were small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants, while among the 38 infants in the GA ≥ 28 weeks group, 24 (63%) were SGA infants. Compared with the GA ≥ 28 weeks group, the GA < 28 weeks group had significantly longer initial and final time to full enteral feeding (P < 0.05). The GA < 28 weeks group had a significantly higher recurrence rate of FI than the GA ≥ 28 weeks group (54% vs 32%, P < 0.05). Compared with the GA < 28 weeks group, the GA ≥ 28 weeks group had a significantly lower incidence rate of FI within 1-2 weeks after birth (5% vs 29%, P < 0.05) and a significantly shorter duration of FI (P < 0.05). The ELBW infants in the GA ≥ 28 weeks group had a higher velocity of weight gain, a shorter length of hospital stay, and a lower incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, but a higher incidence rate of extrauterine growth retardation (EUGR) than the GA < 28 weeks group at discharge (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Compared with the ELBW infants with a GA of < 28 weeks, the ELBW infants with a GA of ≥ 28 weeks have a lower recurrence rate of FI and can achieve full enteral feeding earlier, but with a higher incidence rate of EUGR, suggesting that enteral feeding needs to be more active for the ELBW infants with a GA of ≥ 28 weeks.