Effect of Non-aspirated Gastric Residual Content on Preterm Infants' Health Status

Background: Gastric residuals (GR) aspiration is considered standard practice for preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Unfortunately, there is little information about the dangers and advantages of this routine procedure. Various care procedures, such as the measurement of gastric residual volume (GRV), may contribute to the problem of inadequate calorie intake in preterm newborns. Aim: The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of non-gastric residual aspiration on preterm infant weight, necrotizing enterocolitis, and time to reach full enteral feeding. Methods: A quasi-experimental (control and intervention) design was used in the study. El-Manial University Hospital and Elmonira Pediatric Hospital NICUS cared for sixty preterm infants. Four different tools were used: (I) Neonatal personal information; (II) a gastric residual observational checklist; (III) the Fenton Growth Weight Chart; and (IV) Modified Bell's Staging Criteria for Necrotizing Enterocolitis. The results: The mean number of days required to achieve full enteral intake of 120 ml kg per day in the intervention group was 7.21 ± 0.66, whereas, in the control group, it was 9.72 ± 0.85, a difference that was slightly significant at the p-value < 0.05