ABSTRACT
Objective To study the changes of blood gastrointestinal hormones concentration and effect of early feeding in premature infants on it. Methods Seventy-two premature infants were divided into 4 groups: self-sucking (group Ⅰ),tube feeding (group Ⅱ),minimal enteral nutrition (MEN, group Ⅲ), non-nutritive sucking (NNS, group Ⅳ). The plasma motilin and serum gastrin were measured within 12 hour before enteral feeding, on day 3 and day 7 of life by radioimmunoassay. 16 full-term neonates were studied as control. Results (1)The serum concentration of gastrin in premature infants before enteral feeding, on day 3 and day 7 were (61?24)ng/L,(93?37)ng/L,(126?45) ng/L respectively, which were significantly lower than that of control(126?30) ng/L,(135?34)ng/L,and (178?46)ng/L,(P