Purpose: We investigated fecal calprotectin (FC) levels in preterm infants with and without feeding intolerance (FI), and compared the FC levels according to the type of feeding.
Methods: The medical records of 67 premature infants were reviewed retrospectively. The fully enteral-fed infants were classified into two groups; the FI group (29 infants) and the control group (31 infants). Seven infants with necrotizing enterocolitis, sepsis, and perinatal asphyxia were excluded. If breast milk (BM) or preterm formula (PF) could not be tolerated by infants with FI, amino acid-based formula (AAF) was tried temporarily. Once FI improved, AAF was discontinued, and BM or PF was resumed. We investigated the FC levels according to the type of feeding.
Results: Significant differences were found in gestational age, birth weight, age when full enteral feeding was achieved, and hospital stay between the FI and control group (p<0.05). The FC levels in the FI group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p<0.05). The FC levels in the AAF-fed infants with FI were significantly lower than those in the BM- or PF-fed infants (p<0.05). The growth velocities (g/d) and z scores were not significantly different between the FI and control group (p>0.05).
Conclusion: The FC levels in AAF-fed infants with FI showed significantly lower than those in the BM- or PF-fed infants with FI. The mitigation of gut inflammation through the decrease of FC levels in AAF-fed infants with FI could be presumed.
Keywords: Fecal calprotectin; Infant formula.