Efficacy and safety of mucous fistula refeeding in preterm infants: an exploratory randomized controlled trial.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate whether mucous fistula refeeding (MFR) is safe and beneficial for the growth and intestinal adaptation of preterm infants with enterostomies.

Methods: This exploratory randomized controlled trial enrolled infants born before 35 weeks' gestation with enterostomy. If the stomal output was ≥ 40 mL/kg/day, infants were assigned to the high-output MFR group and received MFR. If the stoma output was < 40 mL/kg/day, infants were randomized to the normal-output MFR group or the control group. Growth, serum citrulline levels, and bowel diameter in loopograms were compared. The safety of MFR was evaluated.

Results: Twenty infants were included. The growth rate increased considerably, and the colon diameter was significantly larger after MFR. However, the citrulline levels did not significantly differ between the normal-output MFR and the control group. One case of bowel perforation occurred during the manual reduction for stoma prolapse. Although the association with MFR was unclear, two cases of culture-proven sepsis during MFR were noted.

Conclusions: MFR benefits the growth and intestinal adaptation of preterm infants with enterostomy and can be safely implemented with a standardized protocol. However, infectious complications need to be investigated further.

Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov NCT02812095, retrospectively registered on June 6, 2016.