Effect of prophylactic use of hydrolyzed protein formula on gastrointestinal diseases and physical growth in preterm infants: a Meta analysis.

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To systematically evaluate the effect of prophylactic use of hydrolyzed protein formula on gastrointestinal diseases and physical development in preterm infants. A computerized search was performed in the databases including China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, Weipu, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library to identify randomized controlled trials of the effect of prophylactic use of hydrolyzed protein formula on gastrointestinal diseases and physical growth in preterm infants. RevMan 5.3 software was used to perform a Meta analysis for the included studies. A total of 7 randomized controlled studies were included. The results of Meta analysis showed that compared with the whole protein formula, the prophylactic use of hydrolyzed protein formula could reduce the risk of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (RR=0.40, P=0.04) and feeding intolerance (RR=0.40, P=0.005), and had no significant effect on the growth of weight, length and head circumference (P>0.05). Compared with the whole protein formula, the prophylactic use of hydrolyzed protein formula in preterm infants may reduce the occurrence of necrotizing enterocolitis and feeding intolerance, and can meet the nutrient requirement of physical development. However, the evidence is limited, and the results of this study cannot support the routine prophylactic use of hydrolyzed protein formula in preterm infants.