Vented Base Feeding Bottle in Preterm Infants With GERD Symptoms: Effects on Respiration-swallow Patterns and Reflux.

In preterm infants a deficit of both coordination and gastro-intestinal motility is often the underpinning cause of oxygen desaturations and gastro-esophageal reflux. Breastfeeding enhances the maturation of the respiration-swallow mechanism. For this reason, a feeding bottle that best recreates the physiological sucking from the maternal breast is highly desirable in non-breastfed newborns.

Population: newborns referred to esophageal Multichannel Intraluminal Impedance and pH-metry (MII/pH) combined with cardiorespiratory (CR) monitoring for GERD or cardio-respiratory symptoms

Materials and methods: we compare the effects of traditional feeding bottles (A) versus vented base feeding bottles (B) on cardiorespiratory and reflux events in newborns undergoing 24 hours synchronized CR and MII/pH monitoring. During the exam, newborns are fed, alternatively, by feeding bottle A and B with human milk or formula. Some training meals are offered the day before monitoring to get newborns enrolled into the study used to vented base feeding bottles.

Cardiorespiratory monitoring is performed through VitaGuard VG3100® (Getemed Medizin- und Informationstechnik AG, Teltow, Germany) based on Masimo Signal Extraction Technology (SET)® (Masimo Corp., Irvine, CA, USA). It operates with a blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) detector, placed on the right wrist, and 3 thoracic electrodes. This instrument is able to record ECG, heart rate, SpO2 and thoracic plethysmographic curve. The signals are analyzed with VitaWin 3® software (Getemed Medizin - und Informationstechnik AG, Teltow, Germany), by filtering artifacts.

The MII/pH monitoring is performed through a neonatal catheter (Infant Comfort TEC®) with 7 impedence electrodes (creating 6 impedance channels) and one pH detector able to cover the whole distance from the pharynx to the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) (channel 1). The pH detector is placed within channel 1, 1.5 cm above the LES. The correct positioning of the catheter is measured through fluoroscopy and eventually corrected. Data obtained from impedance channels that result proximal to the superior esophageal sphincter are excluded from the analysis. The acquisition and recording of MII/pH data are performed through Sleuth System, Sandhill Scientific Inc., Highlands Ranch, Colorado, USA. The analysis of MII/pH tracings is made visually by a single operator using BioView 5.3.4 software (Sleuth System, Sandhill Scientific Inc., Highlands Ranch, Colorado, USA).