Student University of Central Florida Wellington, Florida, United States
Background: The prevalence of oral feeding difficulty in infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is increasing. While NICU care vastly focuses on weight and growth parameters, the impact of quality of growth with regards to body composition on clinical outcomes is largely unexplored. Objective: To refine the interrelationship between oral feeding intake and body composition in infants admitted to the NICU. Design/Methods: Prospective ongoing observational study (planned sample size: 50 term and 50 preterm infants). Body composition determined by air displacement plethysmography (PEA POD) and entered a body composition database. The data on demographics, nutritional and growth data, co-morbidities, and oral feeding and other clinical outcomes are retrospectively collected from EMR. Correlation between body composition and oral feeding % standardized to 150 ml/kg/d milk intake was compared for the whole group and separately for preterm (≥ 35 weeks corrected gestation) and term infants.
