Low levels of pancreatic elastase 1 in stools of preterm infants

Abstract

The amount of faecal pancreatic enzyme elastase 1 was significantly lower in 42 preterm newborns than in 12 full term babies at day 2 (89 (3-539) v 354 (52-600) μg/g, p<0.0007) and day 5 (164 (3-600) v 600 (158-600) μg/g, p<0.05) and correlated positively with total nutrient intake during the first week of life in preterm infants. This should probably be taken into account during early feeding.