Commentary on educational outcomes associated with providing a comprehensive guidelines program about nursing care of preterm neonates receiving total parenteral nutrition

摘要

In the early postnatal days, optimal nutrition is as essential as respiratory and cardiac support, especially for very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (<1,500 g) and extremely low birth weight infants (ELBW) infants (< 1,000 g). The goals of evidence-based early nutritional recommendations focus on imitating intrauterine growth rates, preventing early weight loss and avoiding catabo-lism (Ehrenkranz, 2007). When these goals are met, malnutrition, growth failure, and growth restriction are minimized. Mortality and morbidity rates for premature infants have improved over the years along with nutritional strategies, but premature infants still demonstrate growth restriction at discharge which may affect later neurocognitive outcomes. Studies both in the United States and internationally have reported better catch-up growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes in VLBW infants when early, aggressive par-enteral and enteral nutritional strategies are initiated within the first days of life (Ehrenkranz et al., 2006; Martin et al., 2009; Poindexter, Langer, Dusick, & Ehrenkranz, 2006; Senterre & Rigo, 2011; Stephens et al., 2009).