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Title: An exclusive human milk-based diet in extremely premature infants reduces the probability of remaining on total parenteral nutrition: A reanalysis of the data

Author
item GHANDEHARI, HELI - University Of California
item LEE, MARTIN - Prolacta Bioscience
item RECHTMAN, DAVID - Prolacta Bioscience
item ABRAMS, STEVEN - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: BMC Research Notes
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/25/2012
Publication Date: 4/25/2012
Citation: Ghandehari, H., Lee, M.L., Rechtman, D.J., Abrams, S.A., H2MF Study Group. 2012. An exclusive human milk-based diet in extremely premature infants reduces the probability of remaining on total parenteral nutrition: A reanalysis of the data. BMC Research Notes. 5:188.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: We have previously shown that an exclusively human-milk-based diet is beneficial for extremely premature infants who are at risk for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). However, no significant difference in the other primary study endpoint, the length of time on total parenteral nutrition (TPN), was found. The current analysis reevaluates these data from a different statistical perspective considering the probability or likelihood of needing TPN on any given day rather than the number of days on TPN. This study consisted of 207 premature infants randomized into three groups: one group receiving a control diet of human milk, formula, and bovine-based fortifier ("control diet"), and the other two groups receiving only human milk and human-milk-based fortifier starting at different times in the enteral feeding process (at feeding volumes of 40 or 100 mL/kg/day; "HM40" and "HM100", respectively). The counting process Cox proportional hazards survival model was used to determine the likelihood of needing TPN in each group. The two groups on the completely human-based diet had an 11-14% reduction in the likelihood of needing nutrition via TPN when compared to infants on the control diet (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.001, for the HM40 and HM100 groups, respectively). This was even more pronounced if the initial period of TPN was excluded (p<0.0001 for both the HM40 and HM100 groups). A completely human-milk-based diet significantly reduces the likelihood of TPN use for extremely premature infants when compared to a diet including cow-based products. This likelihood may be reduced even further when the human-milk fortifier is initiated earlier in the feeding process.