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Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5
3To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed at McMaster University, Department of Pediatrics, HSC 3V42, 1200 Main St. West, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5. E-mail: satkins{at}fhs.mcmaster.ca
| ABSTRACT |
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KEY WORDS: bronchopulmonary dysplasia premature infants dexamethasone enriched formula bone mineral content
| INTRODUCTION |
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| Special nutrient needs for the prevention and/or treatment of BPD |
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Both intravenous fatty acids and vitamin E have been used as adjunctive
antioxidant therapy in ventilated infants. In theory these nutrients
could serve as scavengers of excessive oxygen radicals produced during
exposure to high oxygen delivery, thereby diminishing the risk of
pulmonary oxygen toxicity that presents as BPD or retrolental
fibroplasia. To date, clinical trials have not proven that either
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) or vitamin E given prophylactically
promotes lung maturation or attenuates the development of BPD or
retrolental fibroplasia. PUFA delivered in intravenous lipid emulsions
starting in the first day of life did not reduce oxygen or ventilatory
needs, and in infants of 600 to 800 g birth weight, mortality was
significantly greater in those infants who had received the fatty acids
(Sosenko et al. 1993
). For vitamin E, a meta analysis
(Specker et al. 1992
) did not provide support for a
clinical benefit of vitamin E at intakes above that which maintains a
normal serum alpha-tocopherol. A more detailed discussion of the
role of dietary antioxidants in prevention of lung disorders in infants
is provided in the accompanying report from this symposium by Welty
(2001
).
| Vitamin A |
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Knowledge of the function of vitamin A in epithelial cell
differentiation led to investigations into the role of high dose
vitamin A in ELBW infants as a stimulant for the reepithelialization of
lung tissue after acute injury induced by barotrauma or oxygen
toxicity. The overall goal was to prevent dysplastic lung disease or
BPD. The key published studies that evaluated the role of vitamin A in
ELBW infants were evaluated in a recent Cochrane systematic review by
Darlow and Graham (1999
). The goal of this review was to
determine the influence of vitamin A supplementation on the prevention
of mortality and morbidity (defined as chronic lung disease,
bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity), and the
response of circulating vitamin A concentrations in infants between 700
and 1500 g birth weight. Five (Bental et al. 1994
,
Papagaroufalis et al. 1988
, Pearson et al. 1992
, Shenai et al. 1987
, Werkman et al. 1994
) of the 10 published studies met the eligibility criteria
for this Cochrane review, although not all studies reported the same
outcomes. All studies included were randomized or quasirandomized
trials comparing high dose vitamin A (given intramuscularly or orally)
to a placebo or no treatment. The key problems in conducting a meta
analysis based on the results of these reports were inconsistencies in
the dose of vitamin A given, the route of administration
[intramuscular (IM) vs. intravenous (IV)] and the total amount of
vitamin A provided to both the control and experimental groups.
The meta analysis was completed on reported measures in 149 infants
treated with vitamin A and 141 nontreated infants in the five studies
that met the review criteria. Four of the studies gave intramuscular
injections of water-soluble retinyl palmitate [6001200 µg
(2000 to 4000 IU) vitamin A given alternate days or three
times per week] for about 28 d (Bental et al. 1994
, Pearson et al. 1992
, Shenai et al. 1987
, Papagaroufalis et al. 1988
); and one study
gave about 750 µg (2500 IU) daily by the intravenous
route in the lipid emulsion (Werkman et al. 1994
). It is
important to note that at the time these studies were conducted there
was minimal or no use of antenatal or postnatal steroids and no use of
surfactant.
The overall results of the meta analysis (Darlow and Graham 1999
) found that high doses of vitamin A did not influence rate
of death by 1 mo of age but there was a trend to reduction of
dependency on oxygen therapy. If death and oxygen dependency were
combined as outcomes, then a significant effect of high dose vitamin A
was found. There was a trend for retinopathy of prematurity to be
reduced by treatment with high dose vitamin A. In a multicenter study
(n = 807 infants of birth weight < 1 kg)
published since the meta analysis (Tyson et al. 1999
),
infants randomized to 1500 µg (5000 IU) of vitamin A as
retinyl palmitate given IM three times per week for 4 wk compared to
nonplacebo-controlled infants exhibited a small but significant
reduction (62% vs. 55% in unsupplemented controls) in incidence of
death or chronic lung disease at 36 wk postmenstrual age. No difference
in retinopathy of prematurity was observed (Tyson et al. 1999
).
For the studies reviewed for the meta analysis (Darlow and Graham 1999
) that measured plasma retinol, supplemental vitamin
A did not always maintain circulating retinol at concentrations above
that considered to reflect biochemical deficiency (0.7 mol/L). Based on
the multicenter study by Tyson et al. (1999
), it was
suggested that a dose of 1500 µg (5000 IU) of vitamin A
given IM three times per week is necessary to maintain normal
biochemical status of vitamin A. This contrasts with the results of the
study by Landman et al. (1991), in which oral
supplements of 1500 µg daily normalized plasma retinol to the same
degree as IM supplements of 600 µg vitamin A given on alternate days.
However, functional outcomes of mortality or morbidity of lung disease
were not assessed in the latter study.
In summary, the available evidence is only suggestive of a role for
high dose vitamin A in the prevention of BPD. Such benefits must be
weighed against the invasiveness of giving intramuscular injections,
unless oral high dose vitamin A is proven effective and without side
effects. Further study is required concerning the fate of high dose
vitamin A when given concurrently with steroid therapy, as would often
be the case in todays clinical practice. A steroid, particularly
dexamethasone, which is used in ELBW infants, is associated with a
transient rise in plasma retinol and retinol binding protein presumably
as a result of stimulation of release of these compounds from the liver
(Georgieff et al. 1989
, Shenai et al. 2000
). Thus, caution must be exercised by not administering
large doses of vitamin A during therapy with dexamethasone, to avoid
exposure of high circulating concentrations of retinol. In addition,
the effectiveness and safety of administering high dose vitamin A in
ELBW infants < 700 g birth weight awaits evaluation.
| Nutritional interventions to promote recovery from BPD |
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The steroid dexamethasone is commonly used in ELBW infants as therapy
to promote earlier weaning from the ventilator and possibly prevention
of BPD (Ng 1993
). Unfortunately, the negative effects of
the potent steroid on growth and mineral and bone metabolism must be
weighed against the short-term clinical benefits of dexamethasone.
In studies from my laboratory we observed that dexamethasone was
associated with abrupt growth restriction without recovery by term age.
Although the infants were born appropriate for gestational age
(birthweight: 782 ± 185 g, gestational 25 ± 1 wk),
length fell to < 5% percentile during dexamethasone treatment
with only 1/17 infants demonstrating significant catch-up (> 5%
percentile) by term age (Ward et al. 1999a
). Weight fell
to < 5% percentile in 13/17 infants during dexamethasone and
only 2/13 infants crossed above the 5% percentile by term age
(Ward et al. 1999a
).
Postnatal steroids induce abnormalities in bone metabolism by
interfering with one or more aspects of the growth
hormoneinsulin-like growth factor (GH-IGF-1) axis (Ward et al. 1999a
). Bone cell activity is suppressed during steroid
therapy, as indicated by reduced circulating osteocalcin (a
bone-formation marker) and N-telopeptide (a bone-resorption
marker), although both markers rose by 10 d after the completion
of dexamethasone therapy (Ward et al. 1999a
). Even
tapered dosing regimens of dexamethasone are associated with
restriction in weight, length and head circumference growth and
abnormalities in biochemical markers of bone turnover (Weiler et al. 1997a
, Ward et al. 1999a
). Using the early
weaned piglet model, we reproduced the steroid-induced
abnormalities observed in ELBW infants, thus proving that the
restrictions in growth and bone are a result of the steroid drug and
not a result of the lung disease or extreme prematurity per se
(Weiler et al. 1995
, Ward et al. 1998
,
Guo et al. 2000
).
In that ELBW infants, especially those with BPD, have a multitude of
feeding problems as noted above, it is reasonable that the restricted
growth could be the result of inadequate nutrient delivery rather than
a direct effect of the steroid drug. Two prospective descriptive
studies with follow-up completed in our institution demonstrated
that nutrient intake of dexamethasone-treated infants was not
different either during or after dexamethasone (Ward et al. 1999a
) or when compared to nontreated infants matched for size
and gestation (Weiler et al. 1997a
). Thus, the catabolic
effects of dexamethasone on protein metabolism (Weiler et al. 1997b
, Ward et al. 1999b
) and its interference
with the GH-IGF-1 axis (Ward et al. 1998
,
1999a
) are the more likely explanations for the
immediate influence of the drug on normal development. Administration
of GH with or without IGF-1, only partially attenuated the
steroid-induced abnormalities in growth and bone metabolism
(Ward et al. 1998
). The role of nutrition in attenuating
the negative effects of steroid drugs on growth processes during drug
administration or as rehabilitation after the completion of drug
treatment needs to be investigated.
| Nutrient-enriched formula to support catch-up growth in BPD infants |
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In a randomized double-blind nutrition intervention study with
follow-up to 1-y corrected age, we studied the response in growth
and body composition in infants recovering from BPD to a diet high in
energy [3760 kJ/L (910 kcal/L)] and providing either protein and
minerals similar to standard-term infant formula or a formula
enriched with protein and minerals (Brunton et al. 1998
). The infants (n = 30 per treatment group,
mean birth weight = 870 g, mean gestational age = 26 wk)
were fed on the intervention diets for approximately 4 mo to an average
of 3-mo corrected age. The nutrient-enriched formula demonstrated
positive effects on length and lean mass after nearly 4 mo of feeding.
Bone mineral content of the whole body was also higher in the infants
receiving the enriched formula but only in the male infants
(Brunton et al. 1998
). The nutrient intakes consumed to
achieve these positive benefits to growth are shown in Table 1
for 1 and 3 mo of age. As noted, the intakes for protein and energy
were in excess of the current estimates of nutrient needs of premature
infants after hospital discharge (Canadian Pediatric Society 1995
). Weight and length, however, both remained well below
reference standards, as indicated by the Z-scores in
Table 2
. Of interest, linear growth was disproportionately restricted relative
to weight (Table 2)
.
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The greatest disappointment of this study in BPD infants was the lack
of a sustained benefit at 1-y corrected age in length, lean mass and
bone mass that was observed at 3 mo when the intervention was completed
(Brunton et al. 1997
). Clearly, continuation of
nutrient-enriched feeding at least to 1-y corrected age in such a
vulnerable infant population may be appropriate. Nutrient-enriched
formulas fed for extended periods to premature infants without BPD have
been associated with longer-term benefits to growth (Lucas et al. 1992
, Cooke et al. 1998
, Atkinson et al. 1999
).
Extremely low birth weight infants who have pulmonary insufficiency in
early life may benefit from special nutritional management both for the
prevention of and recovery from BPD. Unfortunately, clear
evidence-based guidelines for optimal nutrition to ELBW infants
with BPD are not yet available. Ensuring adequate intakes of vitamin A
by either the oral or IM route in early life so as to maintain a normal
circulating retinol is a reasonable objective (Shenai 1999
, Darlow and Graham 1999
). Nutritional
support after hospital discharge should be assessed with the goal to
promote catch-up growth but specific nutrient requirements to
achieve this goal need to be defined.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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2 Research from the authors laboratory cited in this review was supported by grants from the Ministry of Health of Ontario and the Medical Research Council of Canada. ![]()
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