The steatocrit: A simple method for estimating stool fat content in newborn infants

Abstract

Many infants, especially those of low birthweight or short gestation, gain weight slowly in the early neonatal period. There are many reasons for such poor weight gain among which the loss of excess dietary fat in the stools needs to be considered. We have previously shown that it is possible to use a very simple method based on microcentrifugation for predicting the fat content and caloric value of milk.' In this study we have investigated the application of microcentrifugation to newborn infants' stool samples to measure stool fat content.