TY - JOUR

T1 - Milk feed osmolality and adverse events in newborn infants and animals

T2 - A systematic review

AU - Ellis, Zoë Marie

AU - Tan, Hui Shan Grace

AU - Embleton, Nicolas D.

AU - Sangild, Per Torp

AU - Van Elburg, Ruurd M.

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Background: High feed osmolality (or osmolarity) is often suggested to be linked with adverse gastrointestinal events in preterm infants. Aim: To systematically review the literature on milk feed osmolality and adverse gastrointestinal events in newborn and low birthweight infants and animals. Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, CAB Abstracts, Current Contents, BIOSIS Previews and SciSearch were searched from inception to May 2018 to identify potentially relevant studies. Inclusion criteria: randomised controlled or observational studies of newborn and low birthweight infants or animals investigating the effects of milk-based feeds with different osmolalities. Only full-text, English-language papers were included. Results: Ten human and six animal studies met the inclusion criteria. Of human studies, seven reported no differences in adverse events with varying feed osmolalities; one reported delayed gastric emptying with feed osmolarity of 539 mOsm/L compared with lower levels; one reported higher necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) incidence with feed osmolarity of 650 mOsm/L compared with 359 mOsm/L; one found higher NEC incidence with the lowest feed osmolality (326 mOsm/kg compared with 385 mOsm/kg). Of animal studies, two reported delayed gastric emptying with feed osmolarity >624 mOsm/L, one reported decreased survival due to dehydration with dietary osmolarities ≥765 mOsmol/L and none reported increased NEC incidence with differing feed osmolalities. No clear mechanisms were found, and diet composition differences limited the interpretations regarding the independent impact of osmolality. Conclusions: There is no consistent evidence that differences in feed osmolality in the range 300-500 mOsm/kg are associated with adverse gastrointestinal symptoms in neonates.

AB - Background: High feed osmolality (or osmolarity) is often suggested to be linked with adverse gastrointestinal events in preterm infants. Aim: To systematically review the literature on milk feed osmolality and adverse gastrointestinal events in newborn and low birthweight infants and animals. Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, CAB Abstracts, Current Contents, BIOSIS Previews and SciSearch were searched from inception to May 2018 to identify potentially relevant studies. Inclusion criteria: randomised controlled or observational studies of newborn and low birthweight infants or animals investigating the effects of milk-based feeds with different osmolalities. Only full-text, English-language papers were included. Results: Ten human and six animal studies met the inclusion criteria. Of human studies, seven reported no differences in adverse events with varying feed osmolalities; one reported delayed gastric emptying with feed osmolarity of 539 mOsm/L compared with lower levels; one reported higher necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) incidence with feed osmolarity of 650 mOsm/L compared with 359 mOsm/L; one found higher NEC incidence with the lowest feed osmolality (326 mOsm/kg compared with 385 mOsm/kg). Of animal studies, two reported delayed gastric emptying with feed osmolarity >624 mOsm/L, one reported decreased survival due to dehydration with dietary osmolarities ≥765 mOsmol/L and none reported increased NEC incidence with differing feed osmolalities. No clear mechanisms were found, and diet composition differences limited the interpretations regarding the independent impact of osmolality. Conclusions: There is no consistent evidence that differences in feed osmolality in the range 300-500 mOsm/kg are associated with adverse gastrointestinal symptoms in neonates.

KW - infant feeding

KW - neonatology

KW - nutrition

KW - osmolality

KW - tolerance

U2 - 10.1136/archdischild-2018-315946

DO - 10.1136/archdischild-2018-315946

M3 - Review

C2 - 30523072

AN - SCOPUS:85058303688

VL - 104

SP - F333–F340

JO - Archives of Disease in Childhood

JF - Archives of Disease in Childhood

SN - 0003-9888

IS - 3

ER -