Standardised reporting framework for nutrition and growth in preterm nutrition studies: the NutriGrow Delphi study

Challenges in recommendations regarding optimal nutrition for preterm infants are partly due to inconsistent reporting of outcomes in nutrition intervention studies. We aimed to develop a standardised reporting framework for measures of nutritional intake and growth outcomes in preterm nutrition studies.

Measures of nutritional intake and growth outcomes were identified in a scoping review, curated, and presented to participants from three stakeholder groups with experience in preterm infants, nutrition, and growth in two real-time Delphi surveys, the first on which measures should be reported and the second on how to report these measures. All questions were rated for their importance on a 9-point Likert scale. The standardised reporting framework was finalised during three online consensus consultation meetings.

We recruited 313 participants from 32 countries for survey 1, and 121 participants from 26 countries for survey 2. The proportions of stakeholder groups in both surveys were similar, comprising 12% consumers, 73-77% healthcare professionals, and 11-15% researchers. Eight measures were included in the final standardised reporting framework, together with the associated measurement methodologies.

A standardised minimum reporting framework for measures of nutritional intake and growth outcomes was developed to enhance consistency in reporting of preterm nutrition studies.

This study provides the first multidisciplinary international consensus on reporting of nutritional intake and growth outcomes in preterm nutrition studies. We propose a standardised minimum reporting set of eight nutrition and growth measures, together with assessment methodologies, that should be reported, as a minimum, in all studies of nutrition and growth in preterm babies. Widespread adoption of this framework would standardise reporting in an area that currently is highly variable, improving the comparability of research findings, facilitating reliable evidence synthesis, and potentially supporting the development of evidence-based clinical guidelines for preterm nutrition.