Oral diatrizoate acid for meconium‐related ileus in extremely preterm infants

Abstract Background Intestinal disorders are common in very low‐birthweight infants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of prophylactic oral Gastrografin ® (diatrizoate acid) on meconium‐related ileus ( MRI ) in extremely preterm infants. Methods This was a retrospective case–control study of infants born extremely preterm at <28 weeks of gestation and treated with diatrizoate acid (prophylactic group) or not (control group) in the periods 2007–2014 and 2000–2009, respectively. In the 2007–2014 period, 120 infants received prophylactic diatrizoate acid solution. From the 165 infants in the control group, we selected 120 infants matched for gestational age. Cases of death before 72 h of life or congenital abnormalities were excluded. Intestinal disorders, time until full enteral feeding, duration of hospital stay, mortality rate, and neurodevelopmental outcome were compared. Results MRI occurred in six infants in the control group and in none of the infants in the prophylactic group ( P = 0.039). Median time until full enteral feeding was 25 versus 22 days ( P < 0.01), hospital stay was 142 versus 126 days ( P < 0.01), and mortality rate for infants aged 24–27 weeks was 8.2% versus 0% ( P = 0.021), respectively. Conclusions Prophylactic oral diatrizoate acid reduced MRI in extremely preterm infants without side‐effects and decreased the mortality rate of infants born at 24–27 weeks, and is thus beneficial in extremely preterm infants.