Omitting Routine Gastric Residual Checks May Help To Accelerate
Enteral Feeds And Postnatal Growth In Stable Preterm Infants.
JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr 2021;
46:1198-1202. [PMID:
34599757 DOI:
10.1002/jpen.2270]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
BACGROUND
The gastric residual check is routine procedure in neonatal intensive care units while increasing the amounts of feeds given via oro/nasogastric tubes as a precaution for necrotising entereocolitis and intestinal intolerance. However this time consuming procedure is mostly misleading and there is recently a tendency not to check prefeed residuals.
METHODS
We have changed our clinical protocol at the end of 2018 to increase the feeds without checking the residuals and investigated its effects on the incidence of intestinal intolerance, time to reach full feeds and growth parameters.
RESULTS
Comparing the results of 60 preterm infants < 35 weeks cared in previous years (2016-2017), 77 preterms cared in 2019 without routine residual checks have reached total feeds 6 days earlier (9,32 (±8,52), 15,32 (±12,98), p< 0.01) discharged 1 day earlier (41,72 (±28,73), 43,90 (±35,13), p = 091) and had higher weight (2832,17 (±520,40), 2534,15 (±451,84), p<0.01) and head circumference gain (33,82 (±1,51, 32,58 (±1,84), p<0.01). Extrauterine growth restriction rate (<10 percentile) for head circumference was significantly lower and for weight and height also insignificantly decreased.
CONCLUSION
We conclude that omitting routine gastric residual check in a clinically stable preterm infant may help to accelerate enteral feeds and growth parameters. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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