title: Use of enteral nutritional supplementation: a survey of level II and III neonatal units in England.
abstract: Enteral nutritional supplementation is widely used in preterm babies on Neonatal Units (NNUs). There is little published evidence on appraising their long-term efficacy. We evaluated the current practice of enteral nutritional supplementation in 96 level II and III NNUs in England. 96%, 98%, 98% and 56% units use breast milk fortification (BMF), iron, multivitamins and folic acid supplementation respectively. Iron, multivitamins and folic acid supplements are routinely commenced in babies < 35 weeks gestation by 73%, 68% and 39% NNUs respectively. Seventy eight percent NNUs only use BMF for babies that are not gaining weight. Continuing variable practice of enteral nutritional supplementation and current use of anecdotal evidence and best guess recommendations highlights the need for a unified approach and collaborative multinational research to produce standardised guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Queen's Hospital, Staffordshire DE13 0RB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mansoor
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brent
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ginn
mesh_terms: D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004739:England; D004750:Enteral Nutrition / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005527:Food, Fortified; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D007501:Iron / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008895:Milk, Human; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins; D005492:Folic Acid; D007501:Iron