Clinical characteristics and risk factors for feeding intolerance in preterm infants

Abstract

To investigate the clinical characteristics and risk factors for feeding intolerance (FI) in preterm infants and to provide evidence for early identification, effective prevention and treatment of FI. Methods: A total of 116 preterm infants were recruited in the Department of Neonatology, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University, from July 2016 to December 2016. Self-designed "the clinical observation table for feeding intolerance of preterm infant" was used to find out the main risk factors of FI in preterm infants. Results: 1) There were 62 cases of FI. The incidence of FI in preterm infants was 53.45% (62/116). It was 44.93% (31/69) and 65.96% (31/47) for males and females, respectively, with significant difference between them (P<0.05). The incidence of FI in very low birth weight infants was 48.57% (34/70), and in the extremely low birth weight infant was 88.89% (8/9). FI in preterm infants mainly occurred in the period of being fed within 48-72 h. The symptoms included abdominal distension, gastric retention, vomiting and stomach brown color for clinical manifestations. Among them, abdominal distension was the main clinical manifestation. 2) The logistic multivariate regression analysis showed that birth weight <1 000 g (P<0.05), the use of caffeine citrate (P<0.05) and the formula feeding (P<0.05) were the main risk factors for FI. Conclusion: The incidence of FI is very high in preterm infants. Birth weight <1 000 g, the use of caffeine citrate, and formula feeding are main risk factors for FI.