Gastric residual volume as a measure of feed intolerance/necrotising enterocolitis in very low birth weight infants: an observational cohort study

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the efficacy of Gastric Residual Volume (GRV) as a measure of feed intolerance /Necrotising enterocolitis in Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) infants.Methods: This prospective observational cohort study was done in a tertiary care hospital located in rural South India for a period of 2 years. All haemodynamically stable infants born between 30-34 weeks of gestation at birth and 1000-1500 grams of birth weight, admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) within first 24 hours of life during study period were enrolled in two groups; GRV group, where pre-feed gastric residual volume  was checked and No-GRV group, where pre-feed gastric residual volume  was not checked.Results: Both groups had similar baseline characteristics. In No-GRV group, the days to reach birth weight (12.1) and days to attain full feeds (8.0) were less when compared to GRV group. In No-GRV group, average duration of NICU stay in days (16.60) and parenteral nutrition (5.25) was less when compared to GRV group. No-GRV group does not have increased incidence of sepsis or mortality compared to GRV group. In this study there was increased incidence of NEC noted in GRV group (30%) when compared to No-GRV group (p value-0.02).Conclusions: In hemodynamically stable preterm VLBW infants, it is recommended not to check gastric residual volume routinely prior to the enteral feeding.