Deficit of Fat Free Mass in Very Preterm Infants at Discharge is Associated with Neurological Impairment at Age 2 Years
A new key paper on the Journal of Pediatrics focuses on the importance of body composition measurement in preterm infants in order to assess neurological outcome at 2 years of age.
Monitoring not only weight gain but the quality of growth during hospitalization along with assessment of body composition has become more common among neonatologists. This study aims to determine whether the neurologic outcome of preterm infants at 2 years of age was associated with the deficit in FFM accretion during their initial hospital stay.
In this prospective, observational study, each subject’s characteristics (ie, birth weight, gestational age, and sex) were recorded at birth. The week before discharge, body composition was assessed on each child by using air-displacement plethysmography (PEA POD Infant Body Composition System
The study conclusions are that "the neurologic outcome of very low birth weight preterm at 2 years of age is associated with the z score of FFM at discharge fromthe neonatal intensive care unit.Noninvasive measurement of body composition at discharge could be useful to develop nutritional strategies aimed at limiting the risk of neurological impairment".
The article details are the following:
- Title: "Deficit of Fat Free Mass in Very Preterm Infants at Discharge is Associated with Neurological Impairment at Age 2 Years"
- Authors: Frondas-Chauty A, Simon L, Flamant C, Hanf M, Darmaun D, Rozé JC
- Published in: J Pediatr. 2018 Jan 11. pii: S0022-3476(17)31655-4
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