Clinical trial NCT01515696: Impact of Oral Application of Gastrografin on the Meconium Evacuation in Very Low Birth Weight Infants
Official title: Impact of Oral Application of Gastrografin on the Meconium Evacuation in Very Low Birth Weight Infants- a Phase 4 Study
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE4
Conditions: Meconium Ileus
Very Low Birth Weight Infant
Keywords: VLBW infant
Meconium
Enteral nutrition
Meconium passage
Lead sponsor: Medical University of Vienna
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2012-01-24
Enrollment: 96
Sex: ALL
Maximum age (years): 24
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Gastrografin is a radiopaque contrast agent for the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) which can be applied orally or rectally. In neonatal intensive care, Gastrografin is used to detect otherwise radiologically invisible perforations or an insufficient GIT anastomosis after surgery. Furthermore it is used for the treatment of meconium ileus. Gastrografin has a strong osmotic effect and leads to water influx into the intestine lumen. Thereby the peristaltic movement is accelerated and the premature infant excretes stool during the hours following application. Therefore Gastrografin might be effective to mobilize meconium from small bowel and deep parts of the colon. The investigators hypothesized that enteral application of Gastrografin accelerates meconium evacuation in premature infants, and thereby enhances feeding tolerance in this population.

Detailed description: In premature infants the establishment of proper gastrointestinal function is challenging and often associated with delayed meconium passage. Meconium evacuation depends on gestational age and birthweight: the more immature an infant is, the later meconium passage starts and the longer meconium passage lasts. The mean duration of meconium evacuation in premature infants with a gestational age below 30 weeks is 8 days, while mature infants excrete their meconium in 2 days. The obstruction of deep intestinal segments by tenacious, sticky meconium frequently leads to gastric residuals, a distended abdomen and delayed food passage. The time lag to full enteral feedings is extended, the probability to acquire infections due to intravenous access for parenteral nutrition increases and the hospital stay of the infant is prolonged. However, the relation between meconium passage and feeding tolerance remains controversial. While one study showed that there is little concordance between first meconium passage and feeding tolerance, an other one showed that rapid and complete excretion of meconium is crucial for oral feeding tolerance and has a positive effect on it. Recently, the investigators performed a prospective randomized trial to determine, whether repeated prophylactic applications of small volume glycerin enemas accelerate passage of meconium in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Disappointingly, application of enemas did not accelerate meconium evacuation. A possible reason for the ineffectiveness of glycerin enemas is that the volume used was too small to mobilize tenacious meconium sufficiently from the colon and small bowel.

Gastrografin is a radiopaque contrast agent for the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) which can be applied orally or rectally. In neonatal intensive care, Gastrografin is used to detect otherwise radiologically invisible perforations or an insufficient GIT anastomosis after surgery. Furthermore it is used for the treatment of meconium ileus. Gastrografin has a strong osmotic effect and leads to water influx into the intestine lumen. Thereby the peristaltic movement is accelerated and the premature infant excretes stool during the hours following application. Therefore Gastrografin might be more effective to mobilize meconium from small bowel and deep parts of the colon. The investigators hypothesized, that enteral application of Gastrografin accelerates meconium evacuation in premature infants, and thereby enhances feeding tolerance in this population. The objective of the present study is to determine whether the enteral application of the osmotic contrast agent Gastrografin® accelerates complete meconium excretion and improves feeding tolerance in very low birth weight infants.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* premature infants with a birthweight \< 1500g and a gestational age \< 32 weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

* major congenital disorders
* chromosomal aberrations
* systemic metabolic disease and
* pre-existing gastrointestinal abnormalities (i.e. Morbus Hirschsprung)
* pre-existing conditions of severe hypotension

Primary outcomes:
measure: Time to Complete Meconium Evacuation in Days
timeFrame: days of life until until the complete meconium evacuation from birth up to 40 days of life
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Feeding Tolerance- Full Enteral Feedings
timeFrame: days of life from birth until an infant tolerates en enteral feeding volume of 140 ml/kg
Other outcomes:
Locations:
Study officials:
affiliation: Medical university of Vienna, Department of Pediatrics
name: Nadja Haiden, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: