<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effects of extensively hydrolyzed
protein formula (eHF) on the
feeding and
growth in
preterm infants through a multicenter controlled
clinical study.</p><p><b>
METHODS</b>
Preterm infants admitted to eight upper first-class
hospitals in
China between February 2012 and December 2013 were randomly selected. They were divided into two
observation groups and two
control groups. The first
observation group consisted of
preterm infants with a
gestational age of <32 weeks,
who were fed with eHF for 10-14 days after
birth and then with standard preterm formula (SPF) until discharge. The second
observation group consisted of
preterm infants with a
gestational age of 32-34 weeks,
who were fed with SPF after
birth, but were switched to eHF (7-14 days) if suffering
feeding intolerance at 6-8 days after
birth. The two
control groups with corresponding
gestational ages kept to be fed with SPF after
birth. Clinical data were recorded to compare
feeding condition, physical
growth,
blood biochemical indices, and major
complications between different groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 328
preterm infants were enrolled.
Preterm infants with a
gestational age of <32 weeks in the
observation group had a significantly shorter
meconium evacuation time than in the corresponding
control group (P<0.05). They also had significantly lower levels of
serum total
bilirubin at weeks 1 and 2 after
birth compared with the
control group (P<0.05). The
observation group needed more
time in reaching
enteral nutrition (EN) basic energy uptake of 50 kcal/(kg·d), partial
parenteral nutrition (PPN),
hospitalization, and corrected
gestational age at discharge compared with the controlled
infants (P<0.05). There was no difference in the
incidence of extrauterine
growth retardation (EUGR) at discharge between the two groups (P>0.05).
Preterm infants with a
gestational age of 32-34 weeks in the
observation group had significantly lower
serum total
bilirubin levels at 2 weeks after
birth compared with the corresponding
control group (P<0.05). They required more
time in achieving EN basic energy and PPN than in the
control group (P<0.05). There was no difference in the
incidence of EUGR at discharge between the two groups (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>For
preterm infants, eHF can improve
gastrointestinal motility, accelerate
bilirubin metabolism and excretion and does not increase the
incidence of EUGR.</p>