title: Higher protein and energy intake is associated with increased weight gain in pre-term infants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterise and compare the nutritional management and growth in infants <33 weeks' gestation in two tertiary centres.
  
  
  METHODS
  An audit of daily intake and growth from birth to discharge home was undertaken in two neonatal units: The KK Women's and Children's Hospital Singapore and the Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital, South Australia. Mixed models were used to model intake and daily weight (g/day) accounting for repeated day per subject.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The clinical characteristics of the two cohorts were similar. The Adelaide cohort had a higher initial energy intake in the first 5 days compared with the Singapore cohort, and a significantly greater weekly increase of 21.0 kcal/week (95% CI 7.7-34.3; P = 0.002). The Adelaide cohort also had a higher initial protein intake and a significantly greater weekly increase of 0.88 g/week (95% CI 0.5, 1.3), P < 0.001) compared with the Singapore cohort. The weight gain of the Adelaide cohort was 9 g/day more than the Singapore cohort (95% CI 7.3, 10.7; P < 0.001). Post-natal growth failure was evident in 32% (n = 64) of the Adelaide cohort and 64% (n = 94) of the Singapore cohort.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The two centres showed distinct differences in nutritional management. A higher energy and protein intake was associated with improved growth yet growth in both cohorts was still below current recommendations.
authors.affiliation: Child Nutrition Research Centre, Women's and Children's Hospital, Flinders Medical Centre and Women's and Children's Health Research Institute, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Carmel T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Mei Chien
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.forename: Victor S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Rajadurai
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: McPhee
authors.forename: Lisa N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makrides
mesh_terms: D004044:Dietary Proteins; D002149:Energy Intake; D004750:Enteral Nutrition; D006801:Humans; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D010288:Parenteral Nutrition; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012846:Singapore; D013021:South Australia; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins