Time to start minimal enteral nutrition in low birth weight infants and its predictors: A prospective follow up study

Background: In Ethiopia the proportion of low birth weight infants is thought to be 17.3%. The purpose of this<br> study was to determine the time to minimal enteral nutrition (MEN) and its predictors in LBW neonates admitted<br> to neonatal intensive care unit in selected hospitals of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.<br> Method: An institutional based prospective follow up study was conducted. Both primary and secondary data was<br> used by interviewing mothers and prospective medical chart review of neonates. The Cox regression model was<br> used and variables having a p-value less than 0.05 with 95% CIs in a multivariable analysis were declared as<br> statistically significant association with time to minimal enteral nutrition.<br> Result: 79.4% of them were initiated with MEN. The median time to MEN was 37 h. BW, GA, weight for<br> gestational age, hospital acquired infection, respiratory support and NICU location (hospital) were found to have<br> a statistically significant association with time to initiate minimal enteral nutrition.<br> Conclusions: As early of initiation of minimal enteral nutrition has a significant role to shorten the time to reach<br> full enteral feeding and reducing malnutrition in the NICU health care staffs treating LBW neonates should<br> consider nutrition as part of the management and special concerns should be given for those who are very<br> preterm and very LBW. Experts in the area and hospitals should prepare feeding initiation protocol to be used<br> across all hospitals and health care staffs to avoid a variation in time to MEN among different neonatal units.