ArticlePloS one2024
Time to full enteral feeds in hospitalised preterm and very low birth weight infants in Nigeria and Kenya.
Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Relationship between feeding milestones and comorbidities with the postnatal growth in preterm infants.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026Article
- Enteral feeding practices and guideline adherence for very low birth weight infants in Chinese NICUs: a multicentre cross-sectional survey.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Evaluation of First-Week Fluid Intake and Maximal Weight Loss Percentage with In-Hospital Adverse Outcomes Among Moderately and Very Preterm Newborns in Ethiopia.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- How long does it take to start minimal enteral feeding in preterm Neonates admitted to NICUs in Southern Oromia, Ethiopia?Italian journal of pediatrics · 2025Observational
- Efficacy and Safety of Orogastric vs. Nasogastric Tube Feeding in Preterm Infants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
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Authors and funding
19 authors at 9 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPreterm (born < 37 weeks' gestation) and very low birthweight (VLBW; <1.5kg) infants are at the greatest risk of morbidity and mortality within the first 28 days of life. Establishing full enteral feeds is a vital aspect of their clinical care. Evidence predominantly from high income countries shows that early and rapid advancement of feeds is safe and reduces length of hospital stay and adverse health outcomes. However, there are limited data on feeding practices and factors that influence the attainment of full enteral feeds among these vulnerable infants in sub-Saharan Africa.
aimTo identify factors that influence the time to full enteral feeds, defined as tolerance of 120ml/kg/day, in hospitalised preterm and VLBW infants in neonatal units in two sub-Saharan African countries.
methodsDemographic and clinical variables were collected for newborns admitted to 7 neonatal units in Nigeria and Kenya over 6-months. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to identify factors independently associated with time to full enteral feeds.
resultsOf the 2280 newborn infants admitted, 484 were preterm and VLBW. Overall, 222/484 (45.8%) infants died with over half of the deaths (136/222; 61.7%) occurring before the first feed. The median (inter-quartile range) time to first feed was 46 (27, 72) hours of life and time to full enteral feeds (tFEF) was 8 (4.5,12) days with marked variation between neonatal units. Independent predictors of tFEF were time to first feed (unstandardised coefficient B 1.69; 95% CI 1.11 to 2.26; p value <0.001), gestational age (1.77; 0.72 to 2.81; <0.001), the occurrence of respiratory distress (-1.89; -3.50 to -0.79; <0.002) and necrotising enterocolitis (4.31; 1.00 to 7.62; <0.011).
conclusionThe use of standardised feeding guidelines may decrease variations in clinical practice, shorten tFEF and thereby improve preterm and VLBW outcomes.
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