Title : Optimising the delivery of parenteral nutrition in newborn care
Abstract:
The aim of nutritional support when caring for the preterm infant is to achieve a postnatal growth rate approximately similar to that expected of the normal fetus of an equivalent gestational age. However, most preterm infants fail to receive sufficient amounts of nutrients to support normal fetal growth rates. Subsequent growth restriction is a significant issue, with long-term implications for both physical and cognitive functioning. Here we present a single-centre quality improvement initiative that successfully optimised neonatal parental nutrition feeding regimens, resulting in higher protein and lipid intakes over the first 5 days of feeding as well as greater concordance with BAPM recommendations.