Reducing time to initiation and advancement of enteral feeding in an all-referral neonatal intensive care unit.

Morton, S. U., Belfort, M. B., Kahlon, P. S., Barfjani, S. H., Rudie, C., Hashim, E., Hansen, A., & Huh, S. Y. (2018). Reducing time to initiation and advancement of enteral feeding in an all-referral neonatal intensive care unit.. Journal of Perinatology : Official Journal of the California Perinatal Association, 38(7), 936-943.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Decrease time to enteral feeding initiation and advancement.

STUDY DESIGN: In our all-referral neonatal intensive care unit, we developed an evidence-based guideline addressing feeding initiation and advancement. During 6 months before and 7 months after guideline implementation, we measured time to initiate feeding, time to 100 ml/kg/day of feeding, gastric residual measurement frequency, and incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (balancing measure).

RESULT: Two hundred twenty-three infants were studied. Time from admission to feeding initiation was shorter after guideline implementation (mean 0.5 days [95% CI: 0.4-0.7] vs. 1.1 days [95% CI: 0.7-1.5], p = 0.01). Time from admission to 100 ml/kg/day feeding was also shorter (3.6 days [95% CI: 2.8-4.4] vs. 6.2 days [95% CI: 4.4-8.1], p = 0.01). After guideline implementation, routine gastric residual measurements were discontinued.

CONCLUSION: After implementation of an enteral feeding guideline, which included discontinuation of routine gastric residual assessment, we observed a faster initiation of enteral feeding and shorter time to reach 100 ml/kg/day.

Last updated on 02/18/2025
PubMed