Growth and nutrition of the very preterm infant

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The poor energy reserves of the very preterm infant results in a survival time in starvation of less than 5 days. Total parenteral nutrition may therefore be life saving. The in utero growth of the fetus has become by default the reference standard for the growth of the preterm infant. Requirements of nutrients, however, are determined not only by growth rate but also by the maturity of the infant. Thus water requirements depend on rate of insensible water loss, GFR, renal solute load and arginine vasopressin secretion. Protein requirements are determined mainly by the high growth rate, and possibly in part by immaturity of biosynthetic pathways, whereas sodium requirements are determined mainly by the immmaturity of the renal tubules. The rate of mineralisation of the skeleton may yet prove to be limited by the intestinal absorption of calcium. Since growth involves a positive non metabolisable base (NB) balance, and the renal control of the plasma concentration of NB is immature, attention must be paid to the NB concentration of the diet.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: