Impact of Intrauterine Growth Restriction and Placental Insufficiency on Nutritional Outcomes of Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants

Introduction The aim of our study was to assess the impact of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and placental insufficiency (PI) on the nutritional outcomes of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. Methods We conducted a six-year retrospective case-control study that included 117 ELBW infants. Of these, 58 infants had IUGR and 59 were born appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA). Infants with IUGR were further divided based on the presence or absence of PI, as determined by umbilical arterial doppler velocimetry on serial ultrasounds. Results IUGR infants with PI had the lowest enteral calorie intake at 28 days of life (DOL) (median intake- IUGR+PI: 32 vs IUGR-PI: 93 vs AGA: 110 kcal/kg/day; p-value 0.011) and at 36 weeks corrected gestational age (CGA) (median intake- IUGR+PI: 102 vs IUGR-PI: 125 vs AGA: 119 kcal/kg/day; p-value 0.012). These infants also trended towards requiring a longer duration of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) (median duration - IUGR+PI: 35 vs IUGR-PI: 25 vs AGA: 21 days; p-value 0.054) and higher incidence of conjugated hyperbilirubinemia (IUGR+PI: 43% IUGR-PI: 29% vs AGA: 16%; p-value 0.058), but these results did not reach statistical significance. Despite challenges with enteral nutrition, IUGR infants with PI showed good catch-up growth and had higher growth velocities over the first month of life, compared to AGA controls. Conclusion IUGR in the presence of PI is associated with significantly poorer enteral nutritional outcomes in ELBW infants. However, with the support of optimal parenteral nutrition these infants showed good catch-up growth.