BACKGROUND There is no well-defined means to identify the level of oral feeding skills (OFS) in preterm infants. OBJECTIVE To determine whether OFS as reflected by the combination of proficiency (PRO, %ml taken during the first 5 min/ml prescribed) and rate of milk transfer (RT, ml/min) correlates with gestational age (GA), oral feeding performance (OT, %ml taken during a feeding/ml prescribe...

PURPOSE To identify and systematize the main studies on the transition from enteral to oral feeding in preterm infants. RESEARCH STRATEGY Articles that describe the transition from oral to enteral feeding in preterm infants were located in MEDLINE, LILACS, and SciELO databases. SELECTION CRITERIA Original studies, with available abstract, published in the last 10 years were included. DATA...

Objective: Most   neonates admitted to neonatal wards do not tolerate sufficient milk.  Recently the effect of erythromycin on increasing feeding tolerance in neonates has been studied. In this study the effectiveness of oral, high dose Erythromycin a prokinetic agent was used to enhance feeding tolerance in these neonates.  Methods: This prospective randomized controlled clinical trial was con...

Oral feeding competency is a major determinant of length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit. An infant must be able to consistently demonstrate the ability to take all required enteral nutrition by mouth before discharge home. Most infants born prematurely (<37 weeks) will require days, if not weeks, to master this oral feeding competency skill. Inappropriately timed feeding attempts c...

This critical review examines whether oral stimulation via NTrainer patterned orocutaneous therapy is more effective than a pacifier at establishing the non-nutritive suck (NNS) in order to accelerate the transition time to oral feeding in preterm infants. Overall, research suggests that both forms of oral stimulation establish the NNS and have a positive effect on feeding outcomes. However, it...

Children with cerebral palsy and other neurodisabilities often have decreased postural control that exacerbates their feeding/swallowing disorders. Correct postural alignment is important in the normal feeding/swallowing process. In the child with cerebral palsy, the alignment and stability of the oral structures for feeding/swallowing may be compromised by abnormal muscle tone and movement pat...

The objective of the study is to determine whether salivary FOXP2 gene expression levels at the initiation of oral feeding attempts are predictive of oral feeding success in the premature newborn. In this prospective study, saliva samples from 21 premature infants (13 males; birth gestational age [GA]: 30-34 wk) were collected around the initiation of oral feeding trials. Total RNA was extracte...

OBJECTIVE To assess the role of amitriptyline in the effectiveness of an outpatient protocol for weaning medically complicated children from tube to oral feeding. STUDY DESIGN Twenty-one children seen in multidisciplinary outpatient feeding teams across 4 sites were recruited to a randomized placebo-controlled trial of a 6-month outpatient treatment protocol with behavioral, oral-motor, nutri...

PURPOSE To conduct an evidence-based systematic review and provide an estimate of the effects of oral motor interventions (OMIs) on feeding/swallowing outcomes (both physiological and functional) and pulmonary health in preterm infants. METHOD A systematic search of the literature published from 1960 to 2007 was conducted. Articles meeting the selection criteria were appraised by 2 reviewers ...