Effect of caloric concentration of initial feeding on incidence of feeding intolerance in very-low-birth-weight infants.

Feeding the very low birth weight (VLBW) infant (birth weight less than 1500 grams) is an area of Nutrition;al management without consistent application. Various caloric concentrations have been recommended for the first enteral feeding. The problem of this study was to identify the effect of the caloric concentration of the initial formula fed to VLBW infants on the incidence of feeding intolerance. The study utilized the posttest only control group design. Eighteen premature infants (30 week mean gestational age) with birth weights less than 1500 grams were randomly assigned to either a 24 K cal/30ml formula (treatment group) or a 12 K cal/30 ml formula (control group). Formula volume schedule used provided approximately 20 mis/kg/day on day one and 40 mls/kg/day on day two. All infants were gavage feed every three hours. Data concerning indicators of feeding intolerance and other pertinent information were collected on each infant for the 48 hour period following the initiation feedings. The results of the demographic data analysis revealed statistically significant differences between the groups except for the treatment group having ingested enteral calories (day I and II) and total calories (day II). Analysis of each indicator of feeding intolerance revealed no statistically significant differences between the groups. No infant enrolled in the study developed necrotizing enterocolitis. This prospective study demonstrated that a 24 K cal/30 mls formula given as the initial enteral feeding was “safely†consumed by the nine treatment group infants. Sue to the small sample size, the investigator was unable to generalize the conclusion of the study to a larger population.