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Reservoir and emptying function of the stomach of the premature infant
Insights
Preterm infants show significantly slower gastric emptying for both human milk and infant formula compared to term infants. This difference impacts how quickly their stomachs empty after feeding.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Physiology
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
Background:
- Gastric emptying is crucial for nutrient absorption and growth in infants.
- Understanding differences between human milk and infant formula in preterm infants is vital for optimizing nutrition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare gastric emptying rates and half-emptying times of human milk versus infant formula in preterm infants.
- To compare these parameters with data from term infants.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a marker dilution technique to study gastric emptying in 11 healthy preterm (AGA) infants.
- Compared results with data from 17 healthy term infants (4 weeks to 6 months old).
Main Results:
- Preterm infants emptied less human milk (19.4 ml/0.1 m2 BSA) and infant formula (13.8 ml/0.1 m2 BSA) than term infants (29.5 ml and 22.7 ml/0.1 m2 BSA, respectively).
- Gastric half-emptying times were significantly shorter for human milk (25.1 min) than infant formula (51.9 min) in preterm infants, and also shorter in term infants (48 min vs. 78 min).
- Significant differences (p<0.01) in gastric emptying rate and half-emptying time were observed between human milk and infant formula in both preterm and term infants.
Conclusions:
- Human milk empties significantly faster from the stomach than infant formula in both preterm and term infants.
- Preterm infants exhibit slower gastric emptying rates and longer half-emptying times compared to term infants for both milk types.
Abstract:
Gastric emptying of meals of human milk and infant formula was studied in 11 healthy preterm (AGA) infants using a marker dilution technique. Gastric emptying rate and gastric half-emptying time were compared with data from 17 healthy infants aged 4 weeks to 6 months. The amounts of human milk emptied from the stomach per 0.1 m2 of body surface area were 19.4 +/- 4.5 ml in preterm infants and 29.5 +/- 4.6 ml in term infants. The corresponding amounts with meals of infant formula were 13.8 +/- 2.8 and 22.7 +/- 4.2 ml, respectively. With the volumes given gastric half-emptying times for meals of human milk and infant formula were 25.1 +/- 11.5 and 51.9 +/- 9.8 min, respectively, in preterm infants. The corresponding half-emptying times for term infants were 48 +/- 15 and 78 +/- 14 min, respectively. The differences in gastric emptying rate as well as in gastric half-emptying time between the two meals were significant (p less than 0.01) both in preterm and term infants.