Objective
Zinc deficiency causes growth deficits. Extremely-low-birth-weight (ELBW) infants with chronic lung disease (CLD), also known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, experience growth failure and are at risk for zinc deficiency. We hypothesized that enteral zinc supplementation would increase weight gain and linear growth.
Methods
A cohort of infants was examined retrospectively at a single center between January 2008 and December 2011. CLD was defined as the need for oxygen at 36 weeks postmenstrual age. Zinc supplementation was started in infants who had poor weight gain. Infants’ weight gain and linear growth were compared before and after zinc supplementation using the paired t test.
Results
A total of 52 ELBW infants with CLD met entry criteria. Mean birth weight was 682 ± 183 g, and gestational age was 25.3 ± 2 weeks. Zinc supplementation started at postmenstrual age 33 ± 2 weeks. Most infants received fortified human milk. Weight gain increased from 10.9 before supplementation to 19.9 g · kg−1 · day−1 after supplementation (P < 0.0001). Linear growth increased from 0.7 to 1.1 cm/week (P = 0.001).
Conclusions
Zinc supplementation improved growth in ELBW infants with CLD receiving human milk. Further investigation is warranted to reevaluate zinc requirements, markers, and balance.
Background
Evidence‐based management of gastrointestinal (GI) and nutrition manifestations of cystic fibrosis (CF) is limited, and practice variations have not been studied.
Methods
Thus, a survey was developed with the purpose of evaluating current nutrition practices of CF‐focused gastroenterologists, specifically utilizing awardees and mentors of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) Developing Innovative GastroEnterology Specialty Training (DIGEST) Program. Topics included appetite stimulation, tube feeding (TF), and aspects of nutrition assessment, specifically urine sodium and essential fatty acid (EFA) status.
Results
The response rate was 61% (22/36). About half (55%; 12/22) of respondents had 5–10 years of experience in GI, and 23% (5/22) had >10 years. In regard to appetite stimulation, the majority used cyproheptadine; however, duration and pattern of prescribing varied. Variation was noted in TF management pertaining to tube placement, formula choice, and prescribing pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy with overnight TF. The majority did not check EFAs or urine sodium. Treatment for deficiencies in EFA or abnormal urine sodium was inconsistent.
Conclusion
The survey reveals wide variation in management of some aspects of nutrition‐related manifestations of CF among experienced providers. This reflects the need for research to provide evidence‐based guidelines.
Structured nutrition rotations are rarely offered in pediatric gastroenterology fellowships. The North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) Nutrition Committee developed a curriculum to serve as the basis for a rotation in clinical nutrition. We worked directly with 5 fellowship programs to tailor the experience to individual institutions. As part of our pilot study, fellows completed knowledge assessments and self-assessment of comfort level at the start and end of the experience. We saw a trend in improvement of comfort level and increase in mean score on knowledge assessments, but the differences did not meet statistical significance. Fellows who completed the rotation had an increase in comfort level in all topics with most dramatic increases in nutrition management of cystic fibrosis, refeeding syndrome, and cholestasis. Objective measures of nutrition knowledge attainment and use of programmatic feedback to continually improve the learners’ experience will help expand the nutrition curriculum to a broader audience.
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