INFLUENCE OF NUTRITION ON GROWTH IN PREMATURE-INFANTS - ASSESSMENT BYKNEMOMETRY

Lower leg length measurements in 19 healthy preterm infants were obtai ned by knemometry to assess short term growth. Eight infants received fortified human milk and 11 infants commercially available preterm for mulas. Two independent observers measured lower leg length in each inf ant daily during the study period, weight was measured daily with a ne onatal scale. While weight gain showed linearity in all infants, lower leg length growth showed mini growth spurts of 5 +/- 1.7 days, growth periods of 20 +/- 11 days or both types of short term growth. The ove rall weight gain was 35 +/- 5.6 g/day in infants fed human milk and 33 +/- 7 g/day in infants fed preterm formula. The overall lower leg len gth growth velocity was 0.51 +/- 0.04 mm/day versus 0.54 +/- 0.09 mm/d ay, respectively. Both groups had comparable weight and length increme nts. No correlation existed between the type of nonlinear lower leg le ngth growth (mini growth spurts versus growth periods) and the feeding s received by the infants.