title: Enteral intake for very low birth weight infants: what should the composition be?
abstract: Providing optimal nutrition to satisfy the growth needs of very low birth weight infants is critical. The available preterm formulas and fortified human milk diets provide protein intakes of approximately 3.5 to 3.6 g/kg/d when volumes sufficient to provide 120 kcal/kg/d are fed to these infants. These intakes support growth and protein accretion at about or slightly greater than intrauterine rate and lead to relatively increased fat deposition. However, most very low birth infants fed these diets remain below the 10th percentile of the intrauterine growth standards at discharge. There is clear evidence that, with respect to growth, very low birth infants are likely to benefit from a higher protein intake; however, there is no clear evidence that energy intakes greater than 120 kcal/kg/d are needed. Although the upper limit of protein intake and the ideal protein:energy ratio remain controversial, there is enough evidence to support the beneficial and safe use of formulas providing protein:energy ratio of 3.2 to 3.3 g/100 kcal.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatalogy, Department of Pediatrics, College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. sk48@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Sudha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kashyap
mesh_terms: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology; D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000737:chemistry; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000254:growth & development*; D009751:Nutritional Requirements
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004044:Dietary Proteins