Zacharias Patrick, Blinci Jenna, Shenoy Ruthie, Lee Jesse, Singh Yogen
Department of Pediatrics, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA.
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA.
J Cardiovasc Dev Dis. 2025 Apr 23;12(5):166. doi: 10.3390/jcdd12050166.
Neonates with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at increased risk of growth failure and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), making nutritional management crucial for their outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a standardized feeding protocol on growth and NEC incidence in CHD infants. A retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care center, including neonates diagnosed with CHDs from January 2020 to March 2023. Patients were divided into two groups: those receiving the standardized feeding protocol (protocol group, = 12) and those who did not (non-protocol group, = 39). Key metrics such as growth velocity at discharge, anthropometric z score changes at discharge since birth, days to full enteral feeds, NEC incidence, and length of stay were analyzed. Statistical comparisons were made using two-tailed Mann-Whitney test and chi-squared tests. The NEC incidence was 10% in the non-protocol group and 0% in the protocol group ( = 0.25), with no significant difference. All anthropometric growth markers at the time of discharge differed between the groups, with the protocol group demonstrating favorable outcomes across all measured variables; however, these differences did not reach statistical significance. The time to reach full enteral feeds was shorter (8.5 days vs. 11 days; = 0.22), and length of stay was shorter in the protocol group (17 days vs. 23 days; = 0.14), although neither was statistically significant. Although the protocol group showed trends towards reduced NEC and improved growth, this was not statistically significant, which could have been because of the small sample size. Our findings suggest that a standardized feeding protocol may reduce the time to full enteral feeds and hospital stay, but further large-scale studies are needed to confirm these results.
患有先天性心脏病（CHD）的新生儿出现生长发育迟缓及坏死性小肠结肠炎（NEC）的风险增加，因此营养管理对其预后至关重要。本研究旨在评估标准化喂养方案对CHD婴儿生长发育及NEC发病率的影响。在一家三级医疗中心进行了一项回顾性研究，纳入2020年1月至2023年3月期间诊断为CHD的新生儿。患者分为两组：接受标准化喂养方案的患者（方案组，n = 12）和未接受标准化喂养方案的患者（非方案组，n = 39）。分析了出院时的生长速度、自出生至出院时人体测量学Z评分的变化、完全经口喂养天数、NEC发病率及住院时间等关键指标。采用双尾曼-惠特尼检验和卡方检验进行统计学比较。非方案组的NEC发病率为10%，方案组为0%（P = 0.25），无显著差异。两组出院时所有人体测量学生长指标均存在差异，方案组在所有测量变量上均显示出良好的结果；然而，这些差异未达到统计学意义。方案组达到完全经口喂养的时间更短（8.5天对11天；P = 0.22），住院时间也更短（17天对23天；P = 0.14），尽管两者均无统计学意义。尽管方案组显示出NEC减少和生长改善的趋势，但无统计学意义，这可能是由于样本量较小所致。我们的研究结果表明，标准化喂养方案可能会缩短完全经口喂养的时间和住院时间，但需要进一步的大规模研究来证实这些结果。
