Research paper
Individualized versus standard diet fortification for growth and development in preterm infants receiving human milk.
Study answer
What this study found
Individualized fortification probably improves in-hospital growth during the intervention period, with benefits seen for weight, length, and head circumference versus standard fortification. Pooled weight gain increased by 1.88 g/kg/d for individualized fortification versus standard (6 studies, 345 participants), and targeted and adjustable strategies also improved weight gain separately: 1.87 g/kg/d for targeted versus standard (4 studies, 269 participants) and 2.86 g/kg/d for adjustable versus standard (3 studies, 96 participants). Head circumference growth also improved with adjustable…
- Study & population
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of 7 randomized controlled trials, reported across 8 publications, in preterm infants receiving human milk in neonatal intensive care units.
- Intervention
- Individualized human milk fortification was delivered as either targeted fortification, using milk macronutrient analysis to add fortifier, protein, or cream to meet nutrient targets, or adjustable fortification, using biochemical response such as blood urea nitrogen to titrate fortification.
- Key limitation
- Evidence is based on a small number of heterogeneous trials with short intervention periods and substantial statistical heterogeneity for growth outcomes.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
BACKGROUND Human milk as compared to formula reduces morbidity in preterm infants but requires fortification to meet their nutritional needs and to reduce the risk of extrauterine growth failure. Standard fortification methods are not individualized …