title: Glycerin Suppositories Use in Very Low Birth Weight Infants.
abstract: ObjectiveTo study the characteristics of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants receiving glycerin suppositories (GS) and evaluate the association of GS use with outcomes.Study DesignThis is a retrospective study of VLBW infants admitted to a level III neonatal intensive care unit. Infants with birth weight between 500 and 1,499 g were evaluated. We evaluated the frequency of GS use and compared the characteristics and outcomes of the GS group with the no-GS group. Multivariate analyses controlling for gestational age and small for gestational age status were performed to study the effect of GS on outcomes.ResultsA total of 1,073 infants were included in the study. Out of those, 527 (49.1%) infants received GS. Incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis was not significantly different between the two groups, while days to reach full enteral feeds and length of hospital stay were significantly longer in the GS group.ConclusionFrequent use of GS warrants further prospective studies to evaluate its safety and efficacy in view of our study showing association with longer time to reach full enteral feeds. We speculate that GS use could be a marker for gastrointestinal dysmotility and hence the association with unfavorable clinical outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Shalinkumar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Narendra
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dereddy
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Ajay J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Talati
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Regional One Health, Memphis, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Kan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gaston
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Ramasubbareddy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dhanireddy
mesh_terms: D004750:Enteral Nutrition; D020345:Enterocolitis, Necrotizing / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005990:Glycerol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D052577:Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013488:Suppositories; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D013488:Suppositories; D005990:Glycerol