An international study, NeoGASTRIC, is underway in the UK and Australia to determine the impact of routinely measuring gastric residual volumes on feeding outcomes in premature infants. Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon recently celebrated enrolling five patients in the trial, which focuses on babies born up to six weeks early and fed through tubes.
The NeoGASTRIC trial is investigating whether checking what remains in the stomach before feeding affects how quickly babies reach full feeding volumes. The study aims to recruit more than 7,000 babies across the UK and Australia by 2026.
Tracy James, lead nurse of the Special Care Baby Unit, emphasized the potential positive impact of the study on neonatal care. Katie, whose daughter Sophie was the first patient recruited at Hinchingbrooke, highlighted the importance of understanding how these tiny babies feed and develop.
Peterborough City Hospital, also part of North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, recently celebrated recruiting 50 babies to the study. The research is funded and supported in the UK by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and is coordinated by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Clinical Trials Unit (NPEU CTU) at the University of Oxford, in partnership with Monash University, Australia.
