title: Nutritional intake and weight z-scores in very low birth weight infants in Peru.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the actual nutritional intake of very low birth weight infants and their growth outcome during the first month of life. Additionally, we identified factors that account for a negative neonatal outcome in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A case-series study was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Lima, Peru between 2011 and 2012 and the data was obtained from medical records. No feeding protocol was used during this study. Daily fluids, energy and protein intakes were documented and weekly weight z-scores were calculated. A logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors for an adverse outcome, defined as neonatal mortality or extra-uterine growth restriction, during the first 28 days of life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After applying selection criteria, 76 participants were included. The nutritional intakes were similar to standard values seen in the literature, but protein intakes were suboptimal in all of the four weeks. Birth weight z-score was associated with an adverse outcome (p=0.035). It was determined that having a birth weight z-score under -1.09 predicted a negative outcome with an area under the curve of 96.8% [93.5%, 100%] with a 95% confidence interval.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Protein intakes are widely deficient in the population of this study. Nevertheless, an adverse outcome during the neonatal period is more associated with a poor birth weight z-score than nutrition-related factors.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina Alberto Hurtado, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú. Address: Avenida El Polo 740, Edificio C, Oficina 313, Santiago de Surco, Lima, Peru. Email: alvaro.proano.f@upch.pe.
authors.forename: Alvaro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Proaño
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina Alberto Hurtado, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú.
authors.forename: Romina Elena
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Aragón
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Neonatología, Clínica San Felipe, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: Fabiola
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Medicina Alberto Hurtado, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú; Unidad de Neonatología, Clínica San Felipe, Lima, Perú; Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos Neonatología, Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zegarra
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000254:growth & development*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010568:Peru; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Peru; child nutrition sciences; infant mortality; neonatology; very low birth weight infant