Infants' Feeding Habits and Brief Resolved Unexplained Events (BRUEs): A Prospective Observational Study

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Neonatology
• Infant Health

Background:

• A brief resolved unexplained event (BRUE) is a sudden episode in infants under 1 year, involving breathing changes, altered responsiveness, color changes, or muscle tone changes.
• Anecdotal evidence suggests inappropriate feeding may contribute to BRUEs, but objective data is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To objectively evaluate if overfeeding is a risk factor for the occurrence of BRUEs in infants.
• To analyze feeding practices and auxological parameters in infants experiencing BRUEs compared to healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving 42 infants (0-6 months) admitted for BRUEs and 42 matched healthy controls.
• Data collected included feeding practices, auxological parameters (e.g., daily weight gain), and clinical history.
• Primary outcomes: mean daily body weight gain, feeding frequency and volume (bottle-fed only).

Main Results:

• Infants with BRUEs showed a significantly higher mean daily body weight gain (41 ± 15 g) compared to healthy infants (35 ± 11 g) (p=0.042).
• Infants with BRUEs were more likely to be mixed-fed, though this did not reach statistical significance (33% vs. 17%, p=0.131).

Conclusions:

• Overfeeding appears to be a potential risk factor for BRUEs, possibly due to milk inhalation, choking, or worsening of gastroesophageal reflux (GER).
• Detecting and addressing inappropriate feeding practices is crucial for preventing BRUEs in infants.