Feeding tube practices and the colonisation of the preterm stomach in the first week of life.

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to determine if changing nasogastric feeding tubes more often would impact colonisation of the upper gastrointestinal tract of the premature infant. METHODS: We included 22 neonates born less-than 32 weeks gestation within 48 hours after birth. The neonates were randomised to have their feeding tubes changed on day seven or daily during the first week of life. We determined the bacterial concentration by the culture method in maternal milk samples, gastric aspirates and feeding tube flushes. Bacteria were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF). The primary outcome was the concentration of bacteria in the gastric aspirate from a freshly placed nasogastric tube on day seven of life. RESULTS: Data from only 11 neonates were eligible for primary outcome analysis. We found no difference in bacterial concentration between the two groups with a mean colony-forming unit count per ml aspirate of 4.62 log10 (standard deviation (SD): ± 3.43) in the intervention group and 2.76 log10 (SD: ± 3.13) in the control group. Data from 19 neonates were eligible for analysis of secondary outcome measures. We found no statistically significant differences in the composition of the bacterial load between the two groups. Infants with a lower gastric pH had lower gastric bacterial counts. CONCLUSION: Changing the feeding tube daily rather than weekly in the first week of life did not result in reduced bacterial concentration in gastric aspirates. The bacterial load from the feeding tubes was low suggesting that contamination of feeding tubes did not affect early colonisation of the upper gastrointestinal tract. FUNDING: none. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials identification number NCT02830503.

Feeding premature neonates: Kinship and species in translational neonatology.

Kinship, understood as biogenetic proximity, between a chosen animal model and a human patient counterpart, is considered essential to the process of 'translating' research from the experimental animal laboratory to the human clinic. In the Danish research centre, NEOMUNE, premature piglets are fed a novel milk diet (bovine colostrum) to model the effects of this new diet in premature infants. Our ethnographic fieldwork in an experimental pig laboratory and a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in 2013-2014 shows that regardless of biogenetics, daily practices of feeding, housing, and clinical care hold the potential for stimulating and eroding kinship relations between human and nonhuman actors. In the laboratory, piglets and researchers form 'interspecies-milk-kinships' that entail the intimate care crucial to keeping the compromised piglets alive during the experiments, thereby enhancing what the researchers refer to as the 'translatability' of the results. In the NICU, parents of premature infants likewise imagine a kind of interspecies kinship when presented with the option to supplement mother's own milk with bovine colostrum for the first weeks after birth. However, in this setting the NICU parents may perceive the animality of bovine colostrum, and the background information obtained in piglets, as a threat to the infants' connection to their biological parents as well as the larger human collective. Our study argues that the 'species flexibility' of premature beings profoundly shapes the translational processes in the field of neonatology research.

A Stepwise, Pilot Study of Bovine Colostrum to Supplement the First Enteral Feeding in Preterm Infants (Precolos): Study Protocol and Initial Results.

STUDY PROTOCOL: The optimal feeding for preterm infants during the first weeks is still debated, especially when mother's own milk is lacking or limited. Intact bovine colostrum (BC) contains high amounts of protein, growth factors, and immuno-regulatory components that may benefit protein intake and gut maturation. We designed a pilot study to investigate the feasibility and tolerability of BC as the first nutrition for preterm infants. The study was designed into three phases (A, B, and C) and recruited infants with birth weights of 1,000-1,800 g (China) or gestational ages (GAs) of 27 + 0 to 32 + 6 weeks (Denmark). In phase A, three infants were recruited consecutively to receive BC as a supplement to standard feeding. In phase B, seven infants were recruited in parallel. In phase C (not yet complete), 40 infants will be randomized to BC or standard feeding. Feeding intolerance, growth, time to full enteral feeding, serious infections/NEC, plasma amino acid profile, blood biochemistry, and intestinal functions are assessed. This paper presents the study protocol and results from phases A and B. RESULTS: Seven Danish and five Chinese infants received 22 ± 11 and 22 ± 6 ml·kg-1·day-1 BC for a mean of 7 ± 3 and 7 ± 1 days which provided 1.81 ± 0.89 and 1.83 ± 0.52 g·kg-1·day-1 protein, respectively. Growth rates until 37 weeks or discharge were in the normal range (11.8 ± 0.9 and 12.9 ± 2.7 g·kg-1·day-1 in Denmark and China, respectively). No clinical adverse effects were observed. Five infants showed a transient hypertyrosinemia on day 7 of life. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The three-phased study design was used to proceed with caution as this is the first trial to investigate intact BC as the first feed for preterm infants. BC supplementation appeared well tolerated and resulted in high enteral protein intake. Based on the safety evaluation of phases A and B, the randomized phase C has been initiated. When complete, the Precolos trial will document whether it is feasible to use BC as a novel, bioactive milk diet for preterm infants. Our trial paves the way for a larger randomized controlled trial on using BC as the first feed for preterm infants with insufficient access to mother's own milk.