Routine monitoring of gastric residual for prevention of necrotising enterocolitis in preterm infants.

Study answer

What this study found

Routine monitoring may have little effect on the incidence of necrotising enterocolitis but seems to be associated with an increased risk of feed interruptions and delays in reaching full enteral feeds and regaining birth weight. Evidence suggests monitoring could lead to more total parenteral nutrition days, but other major outcomes such as mortality and incidence of invasive infection are uncertain.

Study & population

Two randomised controlled trials involving a total of 141 preterm infants with birth weights under 1500 g compared routine monitoring of gastric residuals versus no monitoring.

Intervention

Routine monitoring of gastric residuals in preterm infants on gavage feeds.

Key limitation

The evidence is of low quality, with small sample sizes and imprecision regarding important outcomes.

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Original abstract