Lipid emulsions for parenterally fed term and late preterm infants

Nutrition and Intestinal Rehabilitation of Children With Short Bowel Syndrome: A Position Paper of the ESPGHAN Committee on Nutrition. Part 1: From Intestinal Resection to Home Discharge

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is the leading cause of intestinal failure (IF) in children. The mainstay of treatment for IF is parenteral nutrition (PN). The aim of this position paper is to review the available evidence on managing SBS and to provide practical guidance to clinicians dealing with this condition. All members of the Nutrition Committee of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) contributed to this position paper. Some renowned experts in the field joined the team to guide with their experience. A systematic literature search was performed from 2005 to May 2021 using PubMed, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. In the absence of evidence, recommendations reflect the expert opinion of the authors. Literature on SBS mainly consists of retrospective single-center experience, thus most of the current papers and recommendations are based on expert opinion. All recommendations were voted on by the expert panel and reached >90% agreement. The first part of this position paper focuses on the physiological mechanism of intestinal adaptation after surgical resection. It subsequently provides some clinical practice recommendations for the primary management of children with SBS from surgical resection until discharged home on PN.

Association Between Enteral Supplementation With High-Dose Docosahexaenoic Acid and Risk of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Preterm Infants: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

IMPORTANCE

High-dose docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid, may affect the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). However, high-level summative evidence supporting such clinical association in very preterm infants is lacking.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association between enteral supplementation with high-dose DHA during the neonatal period and the risk of BPD in preterm infants born at less than 29 weeks' gestation.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, medRxiv, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched from inception to August 1, 2022, for eligible articles with no language restrictions.

STUDY SELECTION

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were eligible for inclusion (1) if their interventions involved direct administration of a minimum DHA supplementation of 40 mg/kg/d or breast milk or formula feeding of at least 0.4% of total fatty acids, and (2) if they reported data on either BPD, death, BPD severity, or a combined outcome of BPD and death.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Two investigators completed independent review of titles and abstracts, full text screening, data extraction, and quality assessment using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0. Risk ratios (RRs) with 95% CIs were pooled using random-effect meta-analyses.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Primary outcome was BPD using trial-specific definitions, which was further stratified for RCTs that used a more stringent BPD definition based on systematic pulse oximetry assessment at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age. Other outcomes were BPD, death, BPD severity, or combined BPD and death.

RESULTS

Among the 2760 studies screened, 4 RCTs were included, which involved 2304 infants (1223 boys [53.1%]; mean [SD] gestational age, 26.5 [1.6] weeks). Enteral supplementation with high-dose DHA was associated with neither BPD (4 studies [n = 2186 infants]; RR, 1.07 [95% CI, 0.86-1.34]; P = .53; I2 = 72%) nor BPD or death (4 studies [n = 2299 infants]; RR, 1.04 [95% CI, 0.91-1.18]; P = .59; I2 = 61%). However, an inverse association with BPD was found in RCTs that used a more stringent BPD definition (2 studies [n = 1686 infants]; RR, 1.20 [95% CI, 1.01-1.42]; P = .04; I2 = 48%). Additionally, DHA was inversely associated with moderate-to-severe BPD (3 studies [n = 1892 infants]; RR, 1.16 [95% CI, 1.04-1.29]; P = .008; I2 = 0%).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Results of this study showed that enteral supplementation with high-dose DHA in the neonatal period was not associated overall with BPD, but an inverse association was found in the included RCTs that used a more stringent BPD definition. These findings suggest that high-dose DHA supplementation should not be recommended to prevent BPD in very preterm infants.

High doses of enteral docosahexaenoic acid omega-3 supplementation for prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in very preterm infants: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation in the neonatal period has been proposed to prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in very preterm infants. We aim to determine the effects of an enteral supplementation with high doses of DHA on the risk for BPD at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age (PMA) in very preterm infants born less than 29 weeks' gestation compared with a control.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) searching PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, MedRxiv, ClinicalTrials.gov (up to 1 November 2021) as well as reference lists and citations of included articles and previous reviews. RCTs targeting infants born less than 29 weeks' gestation and evaluating the effect of high doses of DHA enteral supplementation in the neonatal period compared with a control will be eligible. Primary outcome will be BPD defined as the need for oxygen and/or ventilation at 36 weeks' PMA. Two authors will independently screen for inclusion, extract data and assess data quality using the Cochrane instrument (risk-of-bias tool 2.0). We will perform meta-analysis using random effects models. Prespecified subgroup analyses are planned for the infant gestational age and sex, the marine source of DHA, mode of administration and duration of exposure. Sensitivity analysis will be performed according to the accuracy of the BPD definition (ie, physiological definition) and according to the risk of bias of the RCTs.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis does not require ethics approval, as no primary data are collected. This study will assess the effectiveness of high doses of enteral DHA supplementation on BPD and provide evidence to clinicians and families for decision-making. Findings will be disseminated through conferences, media interviews and publications to peer review journals.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42021286705.

IFALD in children: What's new? A narrative review

Intestinal failure-associated liver disease (IFALD) is a progressive liver disease complicating intestinal failure (IF). It is a preventable and reversible condition, but at the same time, a potential cause of liver cirrhosis and an indication to combined or non-combined liver and small bowel transplantation. The diagnostic criteria are not yet standardized, so that its prevalence varies widely in the literature. Pathophysiology seems to be multifactorial, related to different aspects of intestinal failure and not only to the long-term parenteral nutrition treatment. The survival rates of children with IF have increased, so that the main problems today are preventing complications and ensuring a good quality of life. IFALD is one of the most important factors that limit long-term survival of patients with IF. For this reason, more and more interest is developing around it and the number of published articles is increasing rapidly. The purpose of this narrative review was to focus on the main aspects of the etiology, pathophysiology, management, prevention, and treatment of IFALD, based on what has been published mainly in the last 10 years. Controversies and current research gaps will be highlighted with the aim to pave the way for new project and high-quality clinical trials.

The Metabolic Impact of Two Different Parenteral Nutrition Lipid Emulsions in Children after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Lipidomics Investigation

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) involves the infusion of either bone marrow or blood cells preceded by toxic chemotherapy. However, there is little knowledge about the clinical benefits of parenteral nutrition (PN) in patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy during HSCT. We investigated the lipidomic profile of plasma and the targeted fatty acid profiles of plasma and erythrocytes in children after HSCT using PN with either a fish oil-based lipid emulsion or a classic soybean oil emulsion. An untargeted liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry platform connected with a novel in silico annotation algorithm was utilized to determine the most relevant chemical subclasses affected. In addition, we explored the interrelation between the lipidomics profile in plasma, the targeted fatty acid profile in plasma and erythrocytes, several biomarkers of inflammation, and antioxidant defense using an innovative data integration analysis based on Latent Components. We observed that the fish oil-based lipid emulsion had an impact in several lipid subclasses, mainly glycerophosphocholines (PC), glycerophosphoserines (PS), glycerophosphoethanolamines (PE), oxidized PE (O-PE), 1-alkyl,2-acyl PS, lysophosphatidylethanolamines (LPE), oxidized PS (O-PS) and dicarboxylic acids. In contrast, the classic soybean oil emulsion did not. Several connections across the different blocks of data were found and aid in interpreting the impact of the lipid emulsions on metabolic health.

Neurodevelopmental Outcome of Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants with Cholestasis at 12 and 24 Months

INTRODUCTION

The aims of the study were to describe the neurodevelopmental outcome of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants with parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis (PNAC) and to assess whether PNAC is associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcome.

METHODS

The study is a secondary analysis of controlled trial (June 2012-October 2017) on PNAC incidence in ELBW infants receiving two different parenteral lipid emulsions (mixed lipid emulsion containing fish oil vs. soybean oil-based). Neurodevelopmental follow-up at 12- and 24-month corrected age was compared in infants with and without PNAC. A machine learning-based regression analysis was used to assess whether PNAC was associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcome.

RESULTS

For assessment of neurodevelopmental outcome (Bayley-III), 174 infants were available at 12-month (PNAC: n = 21; no PNAC: n = 153) and 164 infants at 24-month (PNAC: n = 20; no PNAC: n = 144) corrected age. The neurodevelopment of ELBW infants with PNAC was globally delayed, with significantly lower cognitive, language, and motor scores at both 12- and 24-month corrected age. Regression analyses revealed that PNAC was associated with an adverse motor outcome.

CONCLUSION

ELBW infants with PNAC are at increased risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcome.

Comparison of Alternative Lipid Emulsions on Morbidities in Very-Low-Birth-Weight Preterms

OBJECTIVE

To compare clinical outcomes of using different alternative lipid emulsions for longer durations in babies who are at high risk for preterm morbidities.

METHODS

Preterm infants born ≤ 30 wk receiving SMOFlipid versus Clinoleic with longer durations (≥ 14 d) were included in this retrospective study. The authors compared demographic features, clinical applications, and morbidities between epochs: epoch 1 (Clinoleic, July 2017-June 2018) versus epoch 2 (SMOFlipid, July 2018-June 2019).

RESULTS

A total of 91 infants were included in the study. In bivariate analysis; moderate bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) (p = 0.000) and composite outcome [BPD, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) needed treatment, cholestasis and late-onset sepsis and/or mortality] rates were significantly higher (p = 0.043) in Clinoleic group. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, it was found that the type of lipid emulsion used had no significant effect on these morbidities.

CONCLUSIONS

Since both groups had comparable morbidity and mortality, both lipid emulsions are equally safe in preterm babies requiring parenteral nutrition.

Optimizing Early Neonatal Nutrition and Dietary Pattern in Premature Infants

Providing adequate amounts of all essential macro- and micronutrients to preterm infants during the period of extraordinarily rapid growth from 24 to 34 weeks' postmenstrual age to achieve growth as in utero is challenging yet important, since early growth restriction and suboptimal neonatal nutrition have been identified as risk factors for adverse long-term development. Along with now well-established early parenteral nutrition, this review emphasizes enteral nutrition, which should be started early and rapidly increased. To minimize the side effects of parenteral nutrition and improve outcomes, early full enteral nutrition based on expressed mothers' own milk is an important goal. Although neonatal nutrition has improved in recent decades, existing knowledge about, for example, the optimal composition and duration of parenteral nutrition, practical aspects of the transition to full enteral nutrition or the need for breast milk fortification is limited and intensively discussed. Therefore, further prospective studies on various aspects of preterm infant feeding are needed, especially with regard to the effects on long-term outcomes. This narrative review will summarize currently available and still missing evidence regarding optimal preterm infant nutrition, with emphasis on enteral nutrition and early postnatal growth, and deduce a practical approach.

Risk of Liver Injury Associated with Intravenous Lipid Emulsions: A Prescription Sequence Symmetry Analysis

Aims: To determine the risk of liver injury associated with the use of different intravenous lipid emulsions (LEs) in large populations in a real-world setting in China. Methods: A prescription sequence symmetry analysis was performed using data from 2015 Chinese Basic Health Insurance for Urban Employees. Patients newly prescribed both intravenous LEs and hepatic protectors within time windows of 7, 14, 28, 42, and 60 days of each other were included. The washout period was set to one month according to the waiting-time distribution. After adjusting prescribing time trends, we quantify the deviation from symmetry of patients initiating LEs first and those initiating hepatic protectors first, by calculating adjusted sequence ratios (ASRs) and relevant 95% confidence intervals. Analyses were further stratified by age, gender, and different generations of LEs developed. Results: In total, 416, 997, 1,697, 2,072, and 2,342 patients filled their first prescriptions with both drugs within 7, 14, 28, 42, and 60 days, respectively. Significantly increased risks of liver injury were found across all time windows, and the strongest effect was observed in the first 2 weeks [ASR 6.97 (5.77-8.42) ∼ 7.87 (6.04-10.61)] in overall patients. In subgroup analyses, female gender, age more than 60 years, and soybean oil-based and alternative-LEs showed higher ASRs in almost all time windows. Specially, a lower risk for liver injury was observed in the first 14 days following FO-LEs administration (ASR, 3.42; 95% CI, 0.81-14.47), but the risk started to rise in longer time windows. Conclusion: A strong association was found between LEs use and liver injury through prescription sequence symmetry analysis in a real-world setting, which aligns with trial evidence and clinical experience. Differences revealed in the risks of liver injury among various LEs need further evaluation.

Impact of Parenteral Lipid Emulsion Components on Cholestatic Liver Disease in Neonates

Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is a life-saving intervention for infants that are unable to feed by mouth. Infants that remain on TPN for extended periods of time are at risk for the development of liver injury in the form of parenteral nutrition associated cholestasis (PNAC). Current research suggests the lipid component of TPN is a factor in the development of PNAC. Most notably, the fatty acid composition, vitamin E concentration, and presence of phytosterols are believed key mediators of lipid emulsion driven PNAC development. New emulsions comprised of fish oil and medium chain triglycerides show promise for reducing the incidence of PNAC in infants. In this review we will cover the current clinical studies on the benefit of fish oil and medium chain triglyceride containing lipid emulsions on the development of PNAC, the current constituents of lipid emulsions that may modulate the prevalence of PNAC, and potential new supplements to TPN to further reduce the incidence of PNAC.

Impaired mitochondrial medium-chain fatty acid oxidation drives periportal macrovesicular steatosis in sirtuin-5 knockout mice

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), containing C8-C12 fatty acids, are used to treat several pediatric disorders and are widely consumed as a nutritional supplement. Here, we investigated the role of the sirtuin deacylase Sirt5 in MCT metabolism by feeding Sirt5 knockout mice (Sirt5KO) high-fat diets containing either C8/C10 fatty acids or coconut oil, which is rich in C12, for five weeks. Coconut oil, but not C8/C10 feeding, induced periportal macrovesicular steatosis in Sirt5KO mice. 14C-C12 degradation was significantly reduced in Sirt5KO liver. This decrease was localized to the mitochondrial β-oxidation pathway, as Sirt5KO mice exhibited no change in peroxisomal C12 β-oxidation. Endoplasmic reticulum ω-oxidation, a minor fatty acid degradation pathway known to be stimulated by C12 accumulation, was increased in Sirt5KO liver. Mice lacking another mitochondrial C12 oxidation enzyme, long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (LCAD), also developed periportal macrovesicular steatosis when fed coconut oil, confirming that defective mitochondrial C12 oxidation is sufficient to induce the steatosis phenotype. Sirt5KO liver exhibited normal LCAD activity but reduced mitochondrial acyl-CoA synthetase activity with C12. These studies reveal a role for Sirt5 in regulating the hepatic response to MCT and may shed light into the pathogenesis of periportal steatosis, a hallmark of human pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

A Retrospective Analysis of the Effect of Combination of Pure Fish Oil with Third Generation Lipid Emulsion on Liver Function in Children on Long-Term Parenteral Nutrition

BACKGROUND

Deterioration of liver function, or intestinal failure-associated liver disease, is often observed in long-term parenterally fed children. Fish oil-based intravenous lipids have been reported to play a role in the prevention and treatment of intestinal failure associated liver disease.

METHODS

This retrospective analysis included 40 pediatric patients, (20 male and 20 female), median age 38 months (range 1.5-200 months) on long-term (≥1 month) parenteral nutrition who received the parenteral mixtures containing a combination of a third-generation lipid emulsion and pure fish oil because of laboratory liver function abnormalities. The total dose of fish oil from both emulsions for each patient exceeded 0.5 g/kg/day. Data from visits in an outpatient clinic were retrospectively analyzed using the Wilcoxon test, Mann-Whitney test, and Spearman correlation test.

RESULTS

The median time of therapy was 149 days (range 28-418 days). There was a decrease of median total and direct (conjugated) bilirubin concentration from 22.23 µmol/L (range 3.42-243 µmol/L) to 10.26 µmol/L (range 3.42-180.58 µmol/L; p < 0.005) and 8.55 (range 1.71-212.04 µmol/L) to 6.84 µmol/L (range 1.71-150.48 µmol/L; p < 0.007) respectively. A significant decrease in median alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyl transferase was also observed. In 11 patients bilirubin concentrations increased or remained unchanged. When compared to the patients who responded to the combination therapy, the patients who did not respond received parenteral nutrition for a longer time prior to the start of the therapy (51 vs. 30 months; p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The mixture of an intravenous lipid emulsion containing soybean oil, medium-chain triglycerides, olive oil, and fish oil with the addition of pure fish oil emulsion may be helpful in the treatment of liver complications in children on long-term parenteral nutrition.