Method Development, Feasibility and Clinical Pilot Study of Air Displacement Plethysmography for Longitudinal Body Composition Measurements of Preterm Infants in Hospital

Abstract

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Inadequate nutrition during the postnatal period may be associated with adverse outcomes in later life. Tailoring nutrition to promote optimal growth requires monitoring body composition (BC). This could guide nutritional strategies to promote optimal outcomes, however preterm infant BC data is lacking. <strong></strong></p> <p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To introduce and assess the feasibility of air displacement plethysmography (PEA POD) as a bedside tool in the NICU; Second, to longitudinally measure preterm infant BC in hospital.</p> <p><strong>Methods</strong>: This was a longitudinal, observational study. Inclusion criteria: infants 24-37 weeks gestational age (GA); informed consent. Exclusion criteria: chromosomal/congenital abnormalities; hydrops fetalis. Preterm infant BC assessed by PEA POD; anthropometric measures were collected. Infants assessed from study inclusion to hospital discharge. For reference, 23 term infants were measured.</p> <p><strong>Results</strong>: PEA POD was a feasible bedside tool to measure preterm infant BC that was accepted by parents and free of adverse events. Longitudinal measures demonstrated preterm infants (n=65) gained fat mass (FM) and fat free mass (FFM) at differing rates, leading to an overall %FM increase in hospital. Our data suggests that, at term corrected age, preterm infants may achieve a BC similar to full term infants at birth.</p> <p><strong>Discussion</strong>: This study established PEA POD as a useful bedside clinical tool for preterm infants. Longitudinal BC changes in preterm infants using PEAPOD in hospital is described for the first time. Future application of PEA POD can expand longitudinal measures to create reference preterm infant BC data for evaluating quantity and quality of growth in relation to nutritional management.</p>