Higher protein and energy intake is associated with increased weight gain in pre-term infants.
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.
Collins
Carmel T
CT
Child Nutrition Research Centre, Women's and Children's Hospital, Flinders Medical Centre and Women's and Children's Health Research Institute, Adelaide, Australia.
Chua
Mei Chien
MC
Rajadurai
Victor S
VS
McPhee
Andrew J
AJ
Miller
Lisa N
LN
Gibson
Robert A
RA
Makrides
Maria
M
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
D004044:Dietary Proteins