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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Neonatology
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2024.1469724

Thermal Equilibrium as a Predictor of Growth Efficiency in Preterm Infants

Provisionally accepted
Julia Heiter Julia Heiter 1*Juliane Konow Juliane Konow 2Jochim Koch Jochim Koch 3Dominique Singer Dominique Singer 1Chinedu Ulrich Ebenebe Chinedu Ulrich Ebenebe 1*
  • 1 University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
  • 2 Children’s Hospital, Robert-Koch-Strasse 2, 25524 Itzehoe, Germany, Itzehoe, Germany
  • 3 Formerly Draegerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, Research Unit, Moislinger Allee 53-55, 23558 Luebeck, Germany, Luebeck, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Providing adequate nutrition to preterm infants to achieve postnatal growth similar to intrauterine growth remains challenging due to the unpredictability of individual determinants. Material and Methods: We used a calculation program for infant incubators to compare the estimated heat balance with the caloric intake and growth rate in Very Low Birth Weight Infants (VLBWI). Results and Discussion: A group of 32 VLBWI was studied over a period of 14-28 days. An interrelationship between thermal equilibrium and growth rate was observed, with standardized incubator settings being unable to avoid periods of negative thermal balance and concomitantly poor growth rate. Conclusion: Determining personalized incubator settings by means of a calculation program could help improve nutrition and growth in preterm infants.

    Keywords: preterm infants, growth rate, caloric intake, Heat exchange, Calculation program, incubator settings

    Received: 24 Jul 2024; Accepted: 17 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Heiter, Konow, Koch, Singer and Ebenebe. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Julia Heiter, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
    Chinedu Ulrich Ebenebe, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.