Small volume enemas do not accelerate meconium evacuation in very low birth weight infants.
We hypothesized that small volume enemas accelerate meconium evacuation in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. In a randomized controlled trial, VLBW infants (n = 81) received either repeated daily small volume enemas if complete spontaneous meconium passage failed within 24 h or no intervention. Small volume enemas did not accelerate complete meconium evacuation, which occurred after 6.0 to 9.6 (95% CI) d in the intervention group and after 7.7 to 11.0 (95% CI) d in the control group. No adverse events were observed. Daily administration of small volume enemas had no effect on total meconium evacuation defined by the time of last meconium passage.
Haiden
Nadja
N
Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
Jilma
Bernd
B
Gerhold
Bernadette
B
Klebermass
Katrin
K
Prusa
Andrea R
AR
Kuhle
Stefan
S
Rohrmeister
Klaudia
K
Kohlhauser-Vollmuth
Christina
C
Pollak
Arnold
A
D003672:Defecation; D004733:Enema; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008470:Meconium; D013997:Time Factors