Work

Effect of thickened liquids in facilitating full oral nutrition for the preterm infant struggling to achieve full oral feeds at term postmenstrual age

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: Test the effect of thickened liquids on preterm infants (25-35 weeks of gestation) who are struggling to achieve full oral feeds. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study of preterm infants struggling to achieve full oral feeds at term, prompting provision of thickened liquids without aspiration on instrumental assessment, and controls, matched for gestational age and comorbidities, who followed a typical thin liquid feeding progression. Paired t-tests were used to test differences in overall milk transfer (%, milk consumed/prescribed) before and after thickening, with mixed linear regression to test differences between the control and thickened group. RESULT: 38 infants (19 thickened) were included. Prior to thickening, infants struggling with feeds had significantly slower rates of improvement in overall transfer than controls (struggling feeders, 1.3%/day; controls, 4.5%/day) (p < .001). Overall transfer increased 13% 48 h after thickening (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Thickened liquids may be an effective treatment for select preterm infants who are not progressing to full oral feeds at term postmenstrual age, even if aspiration is not observed on instrumental assessment.

Source: Journal of Perinatology

DOI: 10.1038/s41372-025-02529-1