Early Provision of Enteral Microlipid and Fish Oil to Infants With Enterostomy

Completed · Early Phase 1

Conditions studied: Short Bowel Syndrome, Necrotizing Enterocolitis, Small Intestine Perforation

In brief

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and intestinal perforation are common in premature infants. Often surgery is needed to remove the dead bowel and create an ostomy (a temporary intestinal opening on the infant's abdomen). Infants with ostomies cannot digest and absorb food well, and must receive nutrition through the blood stream, i.e. parental nutrition (PN). However, prolonged dependence on PN can severely damage the liver and gut. Therefore, giving nutrition through the gut, i.e. enteral nutrition, is the primary treatment for infants with ostomies. Enteral fats, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), are most beneficial in stimulating gut mucosal adaptation, which begins 24 to 48 hours following bowel resection. In addition, the premature intestine has a rapid growth rate. It is likely that the current clinical practice of giving a relatively low-fat diet to infants with ostomies may not meet their high metabolic needs. The investigators hypothesize that increasing dietary fat content by early supplementation with MicroLipid® (ML, n-6 PUFA) and fish oil (FO, n-3 PUFA) to preserve the proper balance of n-6 and n-3 PUFA, may (i) improve bowel adaptation and infant growth; (ii) reduce the use of PN; and (iii) prevent liver damage and/or cholestasis (jaundice) in infants with ostomies.

Key facts

Study ID
NCT01306838
Run by
Wake Forest University
People needed
40
Starts
2009-10-01
Expected to finish
2014-10-01
Last updated by the study team
2018-08-15

Who can join

Age: 0 and older, up to 0. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

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Where it is running

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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